Reuters: Volkswagen went on trial on Monday to face investors seeking 9.2 billion euros ($10.6 billion) in compensation, arguing the carmaker should have informed shareholders earlier about its diesel emissions scandal. Shareholders representing 1,670 claims are seeking compensation for a slide in Volkswagen’s (VW) share price triggered by the scandal, which broke in September 2015 and has cost the firm 27.4 billion euros in penalties and fines so far.
“VW should have told the market that they cheated and generated risk worth billions,” Andreas Tilp, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Braunschweig higher regional court.
“We believe that VW should have told the market no later than June 2008 that they could not make the technology that they needed in the United States.”
The plaintiffs say VW failed in its duty to inform investors about the financial impact of the scandal, which became public only after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a “notice of violation” on Sept. 18, 2015.
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