Deutsche See sues Volkswagen in dieselgate scandal

Deutsche See is taking legal action against Volkswagen for misrepresenting a fleet of automobiles it rented as environmentally friendly, ending up being the first significant German customer to sue the automaker over its dieselgate scandal.

Volkswagen already deals with numerous lawsuits from individuals, regulators, states and dealerships, a lot of them in the form of class-action cases in the United States. This is the first case brought by a corporate client in its home market.

Bremerhaven-based company, which rents about 500 vehicles from Volkswagen, stated it had been not able to reach an out-of-court settlement. Talks had broken down after Volkswagen replaced the managers with lawyers and PR managers.

Bild am Sonntag stated Deutsche See was demanding 11.9 million euros ($12.8 million). Deutsche See was not right away available to comment on the amount.

“Deutsche See only entered into partnership with Volkswagen since VW guaranteed the most environmentally friendly, sustainable mobility concept,” stated automobile leasing company, which won a sustainability prize in 2010.

Volkswagen stated on Sunday it had not yet seen the charge therefore might not comment on it.

Deutsche See informed it had filed its complaint for destructive deception at the local court in Braunschweig, near Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters.