The diesel scandal could have an expensive aftermath for Daimler: 219 investors have filed suit against the carmaker. It is about the use of illegal defeat devices. The entire claim for damages amounts to 896 million euros, said the Tübingen law firm Tilp.
According to the information, complaining investors include banks, insurance companies and pension funds from Germany, other EU countries, North America, Asia and Australia.
The accusation against Daimler: The carmaker concealed the use of illegal shutdown devices in his diesel vehicles as well as the associated risks and costs and deceived the investors about the truth. Between July 10, 2012 and June 20, 2018, the price of Daimler shares fell from over 90 euros to below 60 euros. The damage suffered as a result is the subject of the current lawsuits.
Daimler considers lawsuits to be "unfounded"
A central point of controversy: so-called temperature windows, within which the cleaning can be shut down to protect engine components. Because there are legal gray areas, many customers complain. The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) had several hundred thousand Daimler vehicles recalled in 2018 and 2019 because of an impermissible exhaust technology.
Read more here about the lucrative business of financial investors with consumer lawsuits in the diesel scandal
Daimler responded: "We consider the complaints known to us to be unfounded and will defend ourselves against the allegations with all legal means - possibly also in a model case." Such a model procedure - similar to the VW case - could cause legal disputes between the car manufacturer and shareholders. The essence of a model procedure is to have central legal questions of all cases made binding in advance by the next higher authority.
The law firm Tilp was confident. They had created all the formal requirements for a model process and expected that it could start before the summer break. The law firm has also filed lawsuits against Daimler for numerous private investors. In addition, talks were ongoing with other plaintiffs, which involved damage in the hundreds of millions, said lawyer Andreas Tilp of the "Wirtschaftswoche". "There will be additional lawsuits in the current year. The total damage caused by our lawsuits should increase to 1.8 billion euros in 2020."
