“This is just the beginning”: major investors sue VW – n-tv.de NEWS

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 Monday, 14 March 2016

 
 
 

 
 In Europe’s largest automotive group, scroll to new legal risks: In a class action lawsuit demanding nearly 300 large investors from VW damages. It is about the losses in the course of the exhaust scandal losses -. And by almost 3.3 billion euros
 

 
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Professional investors take Volkswagen targeted. 278 large institutional investors – including the largest US pension fund Calpers and the Sparkassen-fund subsidiary Deka – have sued the automaker for damages in the amount of 3.255 billion euros. A corresponding report of “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, NDR and WDR confirmed the Tübingen Lawyer Andreas Tilp. The lawyer had announced a corresponding class action a week ago.

Even before there were dozens of similar lawsuits. Now however, the Wolfsburg manufacturer has with legal opponents completely different caliber deal: asset managers, fund managers and other institutional investors generally have a much longer breathing in court as small investors who might quickly lose patience in enforcing their interests.

lawyer Tilp represents the investor claims to be before the Landgericht Braunschweig. The applicants is investors who bought in 2008 VW shares from mid. They seek compensation for the high losses that they have suffered to manipulated emissions during the affair. According Tilp still several other investors of the action want to connect. “This is just the beginning,” said the lawyer. An official confirmation from the District Court for the defense has to be expected until Tuesday.

About a consortium of several companies which financed the costs of proceedings Tilp plane of an impending limitation periods in September 2016 further complaints for more than 20 large investors, according to the report of SZ, NDR and WDR. These shareholders should ask well over one billion euros in damages again. An Alliance-daughter was already among the applicants, it said.

If the allegations it comes to whether the group of its obligation to provide information to shareholders is complied with. VW had the public only days after the US Environmental Protection Agency had made its fraud allegations on September 18 public, informed about imminent financial consequences. Shortly thereafter, the price of the companies listed in the Dax preference shares of VW slumped dramatically – and had temporarily lost nearly a third of their value. Faced with speculation about an alleged threat in the US maximum penalty of up to $ 90 billion to stockbrokers asked briefly even if the VW stock was “uninvestierbar” become.

Volkswagen reaffirmed repeatedly the view followed all information obligations to have. The reactions in the stock market should still have legal consequences: Within a few days, around 30 billion euro triggered by market capitalization into thin air. Were correspondingly high purely notional loss of many investors. A spokesman for the asset management Allianz Global Investors (AGI) had a few days ago declared that one must consider “whether our investors have been harmed and we then take steps accordingly.” The AGI holds 0.06 percent stake in the Wolfsburg-based carmaker. The California Teachers Pension Fund CalSTRS had already announced in this context, the beginning of March to try to compete for damages before German courts.

Ex-employee sues VW

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How to start of the week was also known, the US subsidiary of Volkswagen in the United States is being sued by a former employee. The company is said to have destroyed documents that were available in connection with the exhaust gas scandal. For the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg these new allegations come highly inconvenient: The “Volkswagen Group of America” ​​had previously been criticized by government officials for not acting quickly enough to the problem

Daniel Donovan. the claims to be worked in the legal department of the company, claims to have been fired in December because he had asked the efforts of Volkswagen as evidence to the allegations by the US government in question. VW denies the allegations vehemently.

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Information?

The US Environmental Protection Agency had the group on that September 18 accused to have installed a software in its vehicles by which the results were manipulated by emission tests. Donovan asserts further, in spite of his efforts to bring the company on the date of publication of allegations to stop the automatic deletion of information, the IT department have the deletions until the following Monday – three days later – paused

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Volkswagen have also kept no backup copies, although the company this really should have done. Donovan filed his lawsuit in Michigan, where Volkswagen maintains offices. A Volkswagen spokesperson explained that the circumstances of Donovan’s departure had nothing to do with the waste gas scandal. The accusation of wrongful termination devoid the company believes any basis.

  Source: n-tv.de
 

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