Volkswagen Faces Shareholders’ Claims Over Emissions Scandal

Dozens of large share
holders in Volkswagen plan to sue the carmaker in a German court, seeking compensation for the plunge in its shares due to its emissions test cheating scandal.
Law firm Nieding + Barth said on Monday it would lodge a case with a regional court in Brunswick this week on the matter.
The law firm said it would be seeking hundreds of millions of euros in damages on behalf of 66 institutional investors from the U.S., and Britain.
“On top of that, we collected several thousands of private investors. Therefore we think we are the biggest platform for suits against Volkswagen in Germany,’’ said Klaus Nieding of Nieding + Barth.
Volkswagen’s (VW) shares have lost almost a third of their value, or about 22 billion euros ($24 billion), since it admitted in September to misleading U.S., regulators about emissions.
VW, which declined to comment, is facing a legal onslaught on several fronts.
The U.S. owners of vehicles with higher-than-stated emissions are expected to seek billions of dollars in damages, while the U.S. Justice Department has sued VW for up to $46 billion under the Clean Air Act.
Nieding + Barth said it would argue that VW had been aware of its violation of diesel emissions rules before its first statement on the matter in September and should have informed the public earlier.