There have been increasing reports of successful lawsuits against Volkswagen in the recent past. A growing number of civil courts agree with customers who consider themselves cheated by the Wolfsburg-based automaker for buying a diesel with manipulated exhaust software.
Volkswagen then uses a trick to erase the lost processes from the statistics: shortly before the decision is made, the group lawyers offer a comparison - on condition that the customer declares the matter settled. the lawyers then view the procedure as if it had never taken place.
The many first-instance victories against VW fall statistically under the table. However, the wave of success could be stopped suddenly if the courts adopt the perspective of the OLG Munich. Then at least the estimated 45,000 individual lawsuits that were filed throughout Germany in 2019 would have little chance of success - simply because the claims made are statute-barred.
As reported by the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", the 20th Senate of the OLG Munich made the parties involved aware in a so-called notification decision of December 3 that any claims were statute-barred at the end of 2018. The trigger was the point in time when the diesel scandal became known.
"Comprehensively reported"
As of autumn 2015, the newspaper cited the decision about the alleged accusation that Volkswagen had been "extensively reported in all media." From the perspective of the court, it is inconceivable that a customer of the group living in Germany could not have gained knowledge of this. The Senate suggests that the appeal against an earlier judgment of the Landshut Regional Court be withdrawn (file number: 20 U 5741/19).
When it comes to the statute of limitations, the OLG thus agrees with VW's position - and rejects arguments that consumer lawyers put forward. According to this, the limitation period may only commence when the affected customers are officially informed by Volkswagen or by an official letter from the responsible authorities that their specific vehicle has been manipulated.
In the lawsuits filed in 2019, the lawyers calculate that the three-year limitation period began in 2016, when VW turned to its customers and pointed out the problem - individual lawsuits would then be possible until the end of the year. Since the case law of the higher regional courts on this question is not uniform, the Federal Court of Justice will have to give the final answer. The decision is expected for 2020.
