Almost five years after Volkswagen's admission to cheating on regulatory emissions tests involving millions of cars, Germany's top court will on monday finally rule in a battle over compensation for tens of thousands of affected owners.In an early May hearing, judges at the Federal court of Justice (BGH) said there was a chance for at least partial compensation for some VW buyers, saying they had indeed been harmed by purchasing a manipulated vehicle.
If their colleagues at the Federal Constitutional court (BVG) agree in a ruling issued from 0900 GMT, tens of thousands of cases demanding financial compensation could be brought to a close in the coming months. Such a ruling would be the first major legal setback for VW in its home country, although the scandal has helped drag the entire car sector one of Germany's most vital into a historic crisis.
In recent weeks, an out-of-court settlement covering hundreds of thousands of cases and the closure of criminal proceedings already drew a line under the biggest domestic risks for the sprawling car group from the "Dieselgate" scandal.Monday's hearing specifically concerns a case brought by 65-year-old Herbert Gilbert, who bought a diesel-powered volkswagen sharan minivan in 2014 just one of the 11 million cars worldwide fitted with cheating software by the carmaker.An appeals court found in favour of the pensioner, ordering VW to pay 25,616 euros ($27,930) and accept his return of the car.That payout would have been almost 6,000 euros below the original purchase price, as the judges took into account depreciation on the vehicle.
