Disconnection device is 'material defect': BGH strengthens customer interests

D emnach, the inadmissible disconnection device in VW diesel is a material defect, as the highest federal judge, there is a 'risk of an operating ban' by the competent authority. The Federal Court of Justice's legal opinion was published after a negotiation on the lawsuit of a VW customer scheduled for Wednesday (February 27, 2019) had been canceled by the Bamberg Higher Regional Court (Az. VIII ZR 225/17).

Costs for the replacement are decisive

The BGH is of the opinion that the opinion of the appellate court could be 'legally flawed', since the OLG had classified the replacement of a new car as 'impossible', since the VW Tiguan of the first generation of the plaintiff is no longer produced. In the opinion of the highest civil court, however, the costs for a replacement are decisive.

For Volkswagen, the BGH statement does not give any “concrete conclusions about the chances of success of subsequent delivery claims in general and other warranty claims.” The statements of the Federal Court of Justice are his For the time being, there are also no prospects of lawsuits against Volkswagen AG.

Consumer associations see signal effect

In the opinion of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV), the decision has a signal effect on the model declaratory actions against Volkswagen. The use of the defeat device is now unacceptable in the opinion of the BGH. According to the AFP news agency, the VZBV and ADAC had filed a model declaratory action in 2018, several hundred thousand diesel owners joined the action, according to the AFP news agency Accuses of fraud and immoral behavior. The Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig rejected the lawsuit on Tuesday (February 19, 2019), but allowed the appeal before the BGH. According to the AFP, Myright founder Jan-Eike Andresen explained that the notice issued by the BGH also gave the Myright lawsuit with 45,000 participants “further tailwind”. Andresen was convinced that it was only a matter of time 'until the VW defense collapsed'.