© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo in Frankfurt, Germany, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
BERLIN (Reuters) – Carmaker Mercedes-Benz must pay compensation for so-called unauthorized defeat devices in diesel cars if the buyer is harmed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday.
It is for German courts to decide whether the software in question qualifies as a defeat device and whether its use is justified, the court said in a statement.
However, if a defeat device is found to be illegal and the buyer of a vehicle with such a device has suffered damage as a result of the purchase, the automaker is obliged to provide compensation, he added, and member states are liable. to defend that right.
Knockout devices are mechanisms or software that can change vehicle emissions levels, leading to disputes over whether manufacturers use them to mask the actual levels of pollution from their vehicles.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said in response to the ruling that it remained to be seen how national courts would apply the European court’s decision to federal law.
It added that Mercedes-Benz vehicles that were recalled and underwent a software update could still be used without restrictions.
The case was brought before a court in Ravensburg, Germany, by the buyer of a used Mercedes whose exhaust gas recirculation system worked within a certain temperature range, but reduced recirculation at lower temperatures, causing increased of nitrogen oxide emissions.
Germany’s federal court had previously rejected the plaintiff’s claim for damages, arguing that the automaker could only be charged as such if the damage was intentional.
But a CJEU adviser said last June that owners of vehicles equipped with such devices were entitled to compensation in both cases of intent and negligence.
In a ruling related to the use of similar devices by Volkswagen (ETR:), the CJEU said last July that if a device was designed to prevent serious engine damage that could cause an accident, it may not be illegal, but Even so, the defeat device would be illegal if it operated most of the year under normal driving conditions.
The German federal court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for May 8 to discuss the implications of the CJEU rulings on German liability law.