Investor Claims Against VW Jump -- WSJ
September 22 2016 - 3:03AM
Dow Jones News
By William Boston
BERLIN -- Investors are seeking around EUR8.2 billion ($9.1
billion) in damages from Volkswagen AG on losses suffered when the
German car maker's shares plunged after U.S. authorities disclosed
a year ago that the company had cheated on emissions tests, a
German district court said Wednesday.
The Braunschweig district court, which has jurisdiction over
Volkswagen claims in Germany, said it had received 1,400 claims
against the car maker so far, including lawsuits filed by U.S.
pension funds, asset funds from German states, and individual
investors. U.S. investors that are part of the German claim include
Calpers.
Investors allege that Volkswagen's management failed to inform
financial markets about a continuing investigation of the company
by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air
Resources Board or warn about the financial risk resulting from the
use of illegal software to manipulate emissions tests.
Volkswagen shares closed at EUR167.80 on Thursday Sept. 17,
2015, a day before the EPA issued its notice against the company
for violating the Clean Air Act. The announcement came after close
of European trading on Friday and had no impact on Volkswagen
shares until the following Monday, when investors panicked and sold
off the stock.
By Oct. 1, Volkswagen shares had lost 45% of their value, the
lowest point in the yearlong scandal. Volkswagen shares have since
regained some ground, but closed Tuesday at EUR118.35, nearly 30%
lower than before the EPA disclosure.
In a rebuttal to investor claims filed with the Braunschweig
court in February, Volkswagen admitted that its former chief
executive, Martin Winterkorn, who resigned under pressure after the
diesel disclosure, was aware of the U.S. investigation as early as
May 2014. But the company argued that it expected to resolve the
issue and didn't foresee financial risks that would have required
warning financial markets.
"Volkswagen maintains that we completely fulfilled our legal
duties to financial markets and that these claims are unfounded,"
Andreas Hoffbauer, a Volkswagen spokesman, said in an emailed
response.
The Braunschweig court has been flooded with new claims over the
past few days amid concern by investors that a one-year statute of
limitations could be applied to the Volkswagen claims.
The court said the number of claims against Volkswagen so far
was equal to half the civil claims the court usually receives in an
entire year. Because lawyers aren't allowed to file such claims
electronically in Germany, the court said it had to acquire
additional warehouse facilities to accommodate the massive quantity
of files.
The announcement highlights the continued financial risk that
Volkswagen faces after U.S. disclosure in September last year that
the company rigged diesel engines on 600,000 cars in the U.S. and
nearly 11 million vehicles world-wide to cheat on emissions
tests.
Volkswagen agreed in June to a $15 billion settlement in the
U.S. for civil claims with car owners and state authorities and
reached an additional $1.2 billion settlement in August to
compensate franchise dealers in the U.S.
The company has played down civil claims outside the U.S.,
saying U.S. law created a unique situation that wasn't applicable
in other countries. In Europe, for example, there is no U.S.-style
class-action framework, which means each case may have to be
documented and argued separately.
In Germany, the Braunschweig district court is reviewing the
claims it has received to choose one case as a kind of pilot claim.
A ruling in the pilot case could be applied to other claims, but
unlike in the U.S. the cases won't be bundled into a single
class-action lawsuit.
The Braunschweig court said it would choose a pilot claim in the
fourth quarter of this year at the earliest.
Volkswagen also faces claims for damages in other countries such
as Ireland and Australia, but it is still unclear whether the
courts there will side with plaintiffs and force the car maker to
pay damages.
In the U.S., investors have filed a class-action claim against
Volkswagen in federal court, which analysts say could be more
likely to award damages than a European court. Volkswagen has
challenged the lawsuit, saying U.S. courts have no jurisdiction
over investor claims. Volkswagen wants the U.S. investor claims
combined with similar claims in Germany.
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
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