German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg sues Volkswagen for damages

The German Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg is seeking damages from Volkswagen after local officials bought VW diesel vehicles which now face bans in places like Stuttgart, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated on Saturday.

The value of diesel cars plunged after German environmental groups scored a court victory in 2018 that forced cities to consider bans of older diesel vehicles to bring emissions in accordance with European Union clean air rules.

The FAZ daily informed state officials filed a lawsuit with a court in Stuttgart at the end of 2018, seeking damages amounting “low double digit millions”.

Volkswagen could not verify this, and informed Reuters the company had not observed the particular lawsuit.

But it added that previous court decisions had supported its stance that legal actions to seek damages are without merit since Volkswagen cars had valid road certification at the time of sale.