They struck a deal in Canada for $2.1bn...read below......this is Germany....which could be bigger. Dont the lawyers take half of gthe settlement ?? This could be massive for SGH.
Volkswagen Canada strikes $2.1-billion deal with drivers in emissions scandal
GREG KEENAN - AUTO INDUSTRY REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 10:13AM EST
Last updated Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 4:30PM EST
Canadian owners of diesel-equipped vehicles made by Volkswagen AG will share up to $2.1-billion in compensation and be able to sell their cars back to the auto maker under a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit.
About 105,000 Canadians who bought Volkswagen or Audi vehicles equipped with 2.0-litre diesel engines between 2009 and 2015 will receive $5,100 to $8,000 in compensation. Those who decide to sell their vehicles back to Volkswagen Canada Inc. will receive such a payment on top of the value of their car or crossover on Sept. 18, 2015.
Owners can also trade their vehicles in or opt to have them repaired.
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No money will be paid out or vehicles purchased until the Ontario Superior Court and the Superior Court of Quebec issue final approval of the settlement, which is expected to happen in March, 2017.
The settlement is valued at $2.1-billion if all eligible owners apply and receive the full amount they are entitled to and all eligible vehicles are traded in. It will be among the largest amounts paid out in a class-action suit in Canada.
“That’s a huge number,” said lawyer Harvey Strosberg, who represented plaintiffs in the case. “It’s a watershed moment.”
The settlement comes more than a year after the diesel engine scandal erupted. The German auto maker admitted that it had installed so-called defeat devices that enabled diesel engines to pass regulatory emissions tests then disabled the devices during regular use.
The scandal has cost Volkswagen AG about $10-billion (U.S.) so far – not including the amount of the proposed settlement in the Canadian class-action lawsuit – damaged its reputation among consumers and sent sales of its vehicles skidding.
Volkswagen Canada also agreed to pay $15-million in penalties for false advertising in an action brought by the Competition Bureau, which said marketing the vehicles with defeat devices in them as clean-diesel vehicles was false advertising.
But the Canadian actions and the settlement were reached more than six months after U.S. regulators imposed penalties on the auto maker, leading to anger among Canadian owners and questions about whether they would receive the same treatment as U.S. owners.
“There have been expensive repairs and there are going to be more repairs,” said Bruce McIvor of Callander, Ont.
Mr. McIvor had been reluctant to drive his white, 2012 Volkswagen Golf in case it became involved in an accident and insurance companies would not pay what he thought was full value.
Pat Grattan of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., said her family’s grey 2013 Jetta sat in the driveway for several months for the same reason.
