Volkswagen has submitted affidavits to an Irish district court in its defence of a damages claim linked to its ongoing emissions scandal.
A district court in Castlebar, Co Mayo, on Friday was told affidavits had been presented in relation to a claim for damages by a Roscommon woman against Volkswagen Ireland and its German parent company Volkswagen AG.
Mayo-based O'Dwyer Solicitors, which last month was granted an order of discovery in a case against Volkswagen AG, is representing Eithne Higgins, Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon, following an admission by the car manufacturer last year that it had installed software in diesel cars to trick emission testers in the US. The case is due for hearing on September 6th.
Suspending sales
Despite the firm's efforts to move on from the scandal, including a record €15 billion settlement with US regulators, on Friday it confirmed it will suspend sales of most of its models in South Korea from July 25th .
South Korean prosecutors last month issued the first warrant for the arrest of a VW executive in connection with the emissions scandal.
Last September the carmaker admitted to cheating US diesel emissions tests and said that up to 11 million vehicles worldwide could be fitted with illegal software, including an estimated 115,000 in Ireland.
Globally, the company has already set aside about €16.2 billion to cover the cost of the scandal and this week said that it had set aside a further €2.2 billion.
Despite the settlement with US regulators, attorneys general in three US states are now pursuing the car firm for fraud, seeking additional fines.
The suits by Maryland, Massachusetts and New York allege that knowledge of the cheating reached deep into the Volkswagen boardroom, and that chief executive Matthias Müller was, at the very least, aware of the engineering problems that had prompted the company to take illegal shortcuts.
The company said this week that the accusation against Mr Müller was “groundless”. Volkswagen is scheduled to provide a detailed report on second-quarter earnings on Thursday.
