“Fixed”.
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An article regarding VW Group & Audi settling 2 class actions over the emissions cheating scandal.
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There is still a remarkable degree of avoidance, some might consider arrogance, despite the potential settlement.
Per the ABC report.
In the Federal Court in March last year, VW denied it had a case to answer, despite compensating customers in the North America.
The ABC also reported
“The settlement, on a no-admissions basis, concerns five class-action lawsuits covering all affected vehicles in Australia,” the company said.
Perhaps the ongoing legal action brought by the ACCC against VW is reason for VW to avoid any admissions. That’s despite the billions of dollars in compensation paid and successful court actions in the USA and Europe against VW.
While other car manufacturers might not be perfect, just how many sales have they lost and sales VW gained over the period the illegal emissions device was not known of?
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I’m in this class action and got my email today…early 2020 it appears I might get a small payout. I was very sceptical about receiving anything at all!
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Oh dear the ACCC are still seeking penalties that seem to make a mockery of the severity of the issues they are taking action against. Justice Foster of the Federal Court has slammed the ACCC over the level of the fine basically saying it in no way was severe enough. He also criticised the language used in the agreement saying that they were “weasel words”. From the AFR article:
"Justice Foster also rejected the parties’ agreed facts over the environmental and public health detriments caused by engine emissions as “a bunch of weasel words”.
“I don’t accept that submission, it’s outrageous. If the Australian people knew that [the ACCC had agreed to those facts] they’d be very upset, as I am,” he said.
The statement said the Volkswagen board did not know of the alleged cheating, which would mean its directors would be shielded from charges or penalties.
Justice Foster said he would base the penalty he imposed off that position but that the fact it could be true “beggars belief”.
“Doesn’t that mean that the corporate governance of this very large corporation was hopeless, because this decision to build these engines in the way they did is a massive enterprise in itself?” he asked.
"Doesn’t that mean that they just had no idea what was going on in the company? Why isn’t that a massive negative for Volkswagen in terms of its corporate governance?
“Someone had to know about it. Someone had to write the cheques or pass it through the electronic banking system.""
To read the full article it can be read at:
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The Federal Court has fined VW $125 million for their conduct.
So sad, Too bad.
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Paltry fine in light of their behaviour to cover up the emissions. It wasn’t an innocent error to do the hiding, it was a conscious act to deceive.
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VW agrees to pay German buyers some $1.4 billion in compensation.
I can’t believe that the payout here was so small I thank the legal teams for their work, but would as the Germans did ask about compensation for a reduced valuation of the vehicle due to the company’s poor global behaviour.
Seems strange in the US this issue was settled 2 years ago and VW had to buy back or replace vehicles here we get a token move along nothing to see.
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A constant through Australian history is that our system has ‘erred’ toward education rather than punishment, while most other countries ‘err’ toward punishment.
The rationale has been that, for example, putting a company on its knees serves no purpose other than to destroy jobs and potentially damage the economy. ‘Educating the company’ maintains its payroll, shareholder dividends, and the goods and services it produces. A token fine has been considered a wake-up that would be taken to heart. That is considered a ‘win’ by the system regardless that some companies never learn and are repeat offenders that scoff at the right thing, and some companies budget for our limp wrist fines and just move on with business as usual.
If a fine is not a substantial part of ill gotten gain or profit itself, it has been demonstrated to result in lip services. Our ‘enforcement’ comes across as nought but window dressing that is designed to appear to protect consumers, but the essence is that our enforcement regimes more often protect business interests.
One can point to the ACL as a leading edge consumer protection law, but in the end game the aggrieved consumer sometimes has no option other than to suck it up or take personal legal action against an offender.
How many of our tribunals can make determinations, but such determinations have no force in law for collection - excepting going to court with the determination to get a court order for enforcement?
Right on.
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The issue is they are repeat offenders their “software patch “ did nothing and was proven, the people who instigated the idea (CEO) get away Scott free they need financial punishment as does the company considering what US was offered what we are receiving is a joke also VW aren’t the only ones but they were the only ones caught.
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An article regarding a VW beetle with an entirely different type of emissions.
Perhaps not emissions cheating, but definitely cheating in street racing.
VW cops another smackdown.
