Volkswagen scandal compensation: Australian law firm launches new class action claim on behalf of VW car owners
An Australian law firm today launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of owners Volkswagen (VW) cars.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has said that more than 10,000 people have already registered for their class action claim, which will also cover affected Skoda and Audi vehicles and will target the German parent companies, not just the Australian subsidiaries.
“We’ve responded to what people have told us they want by taking the bold step of running this case on our own purse, without a funder, on a no-win no-charge basis for our clients,” said Jason Geisker, the Maurice Blackburn principal running the case, in a statement on the law firm’s website. “This gives them the best chance of receiving the greatest possible recovery.”
Geisker continued: “There is a lot of anger out there from motorists who feel betrayed.”
Maurice Blackburn’s class action is not the only one in Australia lodged against VW as law firm Bannister Law has already launched its own claims.
In the UK, Leigh Day is representing affected VW owners, and has written to VW chief executive Matthias Muller to warn that, if emissions test cheat devices were found in their clients’ cars, they would view this as a misrepresentation and a breach of contract.
On 18 September, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued VW a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act after it was alleged the car manufacturer had been installing software into some of its diesel cars to cheat emissions tests.