The class action against Volkswagen in Quebec in what has come to be known as “the Dieselgate scandal” was settled out of court for a sum of $ 6.7 million, lawyers for the organization said. environmental protection which has led the charge in this case.
The deal was signed on Thursday, learned The duty. However, it remains conditional on the approval of the Superior Court of Quebec.
Without acknowledging its responsibility, the automobile manufacturer has agreed to pay these millions of dollars which will be used to carry out environmental projects in Quebec, reported lawyers for the Quebec Association for the Fight against Atmospheric Pollution (AQLPA).
This class action against Volkswagen and Audi was brought for the benefit of all Quebecers who have breathed air that would have been polluted by their vehicles, from January 2009 to September 2015.
It claimed $ 35 in punitive damages by Quebecers: it therefore had the potential to cost the car manufacturers concerned $ 300 million.
This lawsuit was different from other class actions brought in that it was related to non-compliance with environmental standards and because it targeted the entire population of Quebec – and not just the owners or lessees of the vehicles. Volkswagen brand.
At the heart of this case was a software dispute over polluting emissions from cars. If this case had gone to trial, a judge would have had to determine whether vehicles sold in Quebec were fitted with them, whether manufacturers had intentionally distorted the devices so that they indicated polluting emissions beyond reality and whether the cars targets such as Jettas and Audis had emitted pollution into the atmosphere beyond what was permitted by Canadian standards.
The class action was authorized by the Superior Court in 2018, which meant that it could go ahead and take all the steps to bring it to trial. Volkswagen had appealed against this decision and had struggled – unsuccessfully – to the Supreme Court to have this authorization canceled. As there was ultimately no trial, none of AQLPA’s allegations were proven in court.
Volkswagen had yet to respond to our requests for their comments at the time of this writing.
The hearing for the approval of the agreement will be held on December 21.