Category: News
London, 16 September 2020: Specialist litigation law firm, Provenio, has announced the launch of a £50 million fund in partnership with leading global litigation funder Therium, to finance high value business litigation and arbitration claims.
Provenio Litigation LLP was launched last year by a team of senior litigation lawyers from DLA Piper in order to advise exclusively on high-value, national and international commercial disputes.
With the anticipated global economic crisis following the Covid-19 pandemic, corporates and investors will have claims arising from failed investments, disputes in respect of long term, high value contracts which are no longer economically viable and claims against counter parties, financial institutions, insurers and others (including professional advisers). Lawyers widely anticipate an increase in such claims as the economic consequences of the pandemic emerge.
At a time when there will be huge pressure on clients to minimise the burden of carrying legal spend, this product enables Provenio’s clients to avoid the significant cost of litigation and arbitration proceedings while taking action to recover substantial sums and damages acting in the best interest of stakeholders.
Mark Goodwin, Managing Partner at Provenio commented: “The portfolio litigation funding agreement with Therium takes our business to a new level. We can offer clients a fully contingent fee arrangement backed by funding that takes the cash flow burden and financial risk out of the case but maintains a significant return for the client on a successful outcome. We believe this is a compelling offering to corporate clients and investors faced with the challenge of having to take legal proceedings to recover compensation and entitlements in high value and complex claims. We are excited to provide such a valuable service to our clients, particularly at a time of need in a challenging economic climate post Covid-19.”
“Operating as an independent specialist commercial litigation law firm, we are free to advise clients in respect of substantial claims against large national and international institutions including banks, central government and FTSE 100 corporates. Our structure and focus mean that we don’t have to turn away business because of conflicts which is increasingly a problem at larger full-service law firms.”
Neil Purslow, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Therium said: “We have enjoyed a successful relationship with the Provenio team for many years and, since its launch last year, Provenio has distinguished itself in the competitive litigation market. We are excited to develop that relationship by making this investment to finance suitable claims under the stewardship of this excellent team.”
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About Provenio Litigation
Provenio Litigation LLP was launched last year by a team of senior litigation lawyers from DLA Piper in order to advise exclusively on high-value, national and international commercial disputes.
Headed by managing partner, Mark Goodwin, Provenio is enjoying a sustained period of growth. Since April 2019, the firm has attracted litigation instructions with a combined claim value in excess of £750 million.
About Therium Capital Management
Therium is one of the world’s leading providers of litigation and arbitration funding and one of the largest, having raised over $1 billion since its foundation in 2009. With investment teams in the UK, USA, Australia, Spain, Germany and Norway, Therium has funded claims with a total value exceeding £39 billion including many of the largest and most high profile funded cases in the UK and internationally, including arbitrations under rules of the LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, LMAA, AAA, CIETAC, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and the Energy Charter Treaty.
Therium has been Top Ranked by Chambers and Partners and Leaders League with investment officers across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia Pac recognised as leading individuals in litigation finance.
To mark Therium’s tenth anniversary, the firm launched Therium Access, a not-for-profit funding initiative, in line with Therium’s commitment to the pursuit of justice and the rule of law. Grant commitments to date exceed £1 million. The first initiative of its kind, Therium Access’s sole purpose is to promote access to justice by funding projects and cases that provide legal support to the most vulnerable in society. Therium Access is the primary expression of Therium’s CSR policy and the firm has been shortlisted for several awards for launching this ground-breaking initiative, including the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards 2019 and the Lexis Nexis Awards 2020.
Therium is a founder member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales and of the International Legal Finance Association. Neil Purslow, Therium’s CIO and Co- Founder, is on the board of the ALF and he sits on the management committee of ILFA.
Press contact details:
For Therium – Désirée Maghoo, Questor Consulting.
07775 522740 / dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com
The Road Haulage Association has secured money from Therium to pursue a case against at least five truck-makers, Sky News learns.
British hauliers have secured backing for a multi-billion pound legal claim against five of the world’s biggest vehicle manufacturers following a massive price-fixing fine imposed last year by the European Commission.
Sky News has learnt that the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has lined up funding for a potentially vast compensation claim, which could see further penalties imposed on DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and Volvo Group, which manufactures both Volvo and Renault trucks.
It is understood to be the first British legal claim emerging from the aftermath of a €2.93bn price-fixing fine imposed on the five companies last July by Brussels-based competition watchdogs.
Scania, another big multinational truck manufacturer, did not settle with the European Commission last year and is still thought to be under investigation.
It is also expected eventually to be included in the UK claim, which will be submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.Advertisement
Insiders said that the RHA would confirm further details of its plans to pursue the truck-makers this week, and had set up a dedicated website for both members and non-members to sign up to its claim.
The RHA estimates that roughly 650,000 trucks were sold in the UK between 1997 and 2011 – the 14-year period that the cartel was deemed by the European Commission to have been in operation.
Sources close to the claim suggested on Tuesday that average compensation of £6,000 per truck could be attainable, giving an aggregate potential value of £3.9bn.
The second-hand truck market is also said to have been affected by what the Commission described as cartel-like behaviour in both pricing and on moves to pass on the costs of compliance with stricter emissions rules.
The UK claim is being paid for by Therium Capital Management, a specialist litigation funder, which is understood to have amassed a multimillion-pound war chest to see the claim through to its conclusion.
Backhouse Jones, a solicitors, and Exchange Chambers, the barristers, will lead the claim, according to insiders.
Individuals who join the claim will not be charged for doing so.
The RHA is understood not to have decided yet on a deadline for participants to sign up.
Richard Burnett, the RHA’s chief executive, is expected to say alongside the announcement that it is pressing ahead with the case that its members are “angry about the truck pricing cartel”.
“UK truck-owners affected by the truck cartel have potentially paid too much for their lorries over a 14-year period and we’re determined to get a fair deal for them,” Mr Burnett is expected to say.
“This is a chance to get their compensation with no risk to their business or finances.
“As the representative body with sole responsibility for UK road freight operators, we are duty-bound to act on behalf of our members’ wishes.”
Last year’s fines in Europe sent shockwaves through the business community as they smashed the record for penalties imposed on a single cartel.
Announcing them, Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner, said last July: “There are over 30 million trucks on European roads, which account for around three-quarters of inland transport of goods in Europe and play a vital role for the European economy.
“It is not acceptable that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks produced in Europe, were part of a cartel instead of competing with each other.”
By blowing the whistle on the companies’ activities, MAN avoided a fine that would have been in the region of €1.2bn.
Read full article on Sky News here
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The International Legal Finance Association expects to spend roughly $1 million in its first year to elevate the profile of the industry in the face of attacks by business groups worldwide.
Thirteen commercial litigation funders from across the world have lined up to launch the first global trade association for the rapidly growing industry.
The International Legal Finance Association aims to advocate for the industry in a climate where business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have sought to sow doubt about the benefits of third-party capital. The organization anticipates spending roughly $1 million in its first year.
ILFA’s inaugural chairman will be Leslie Perrin, leader of London-based Calunius Capital and the former managing partner of international firm Osborne Clarke.
“The Chamber, of course, has set its face against litigation funding, and they have, in theory, had their own way. In the various jurisdictions in which they have challenged legal finance, they’ve dealt with just the local player,” Perrin said. “We felt that was giving them an undue advantage.”
The organization counts six founding members: Burford Capital, Harbour Litigation Funding, Longford Capital Management, Omni Bridgeway, Therium Capital Management and Woodsford Litigation Funding. Most of these players were already involved in the Association of Litigation Funders, an industry group focused on England and Wales.
“What’s complicated about the regulation of litigation finance is that you have to do it locally,” sad Therium Capital co-founder and chief investment officer Neil Purslow, who sits on the ALF board of directors. “Each jurisdiction is different: they have their own quirks, bar associations have their own particular issues. You can’t take a one-size-all approach. What you need to do is apply a certain set of common principles and work out how that best fits the local environment.”
Seven others have since signed on, including investment giants who have litigation funding assets, like Fortress Investment Group and D.E. Shaw, along with more focused litigation funders like Parabellum Capital and Validity Finance.
“More than anything else, it’s an organized way for what has become a significant global financial industry to be able to able to communicate in a thoughtful way with policy makers, judicial officers and so on,” said Burford Capital CEO Christopher Bogart, who is also on the ALF board.
The group’s founding comes at a time when Australia, one of the most lucrative jurisdictions for third-party capital, is in the midst of a pitched battle over regulations. After business groups claimed that funders were causing a surge in shareholder class actions, the Australian government announced in May it would require litigation funders to be licensed and comply with investment fund regulations.
“ILFA’s core mission is to engage with and exert influence on the legislative, regulatory and judicial landscapes, while counteracting attempts by opponents of legal finance to influence those areas, transforming the communications dynamic and presenting legal finance in a positive light, as the global voice of the commercial legal finance industry,” the group’s founding members said in a confidential invitation document shared with The American Lawyer.
In the United States, funders have been spending an increasing amount of money on lobbying at the federal and state levels to push back against advocacy from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This fight has largely focused on the question of disclosure of funding agreements in civil actions. Funders have argued this is a “red herring” aimed at giving deep-pocketed defendants a tactical advantage in litigation.
The invitation highlights the disclosure issue as one of several key principles for the organization. Others include the idea that legal finance transactions are private deals between commercial entities and the concept that regulation should be based on “activities” rather than on “entities.”
“There is no basis for singling out providers of commercial legal finance for enhanced regulation when banks, law firms, hedge funds and private investors can engage in the same effective economic activity with different or lesser regulation,” the invitation said.
While the organization does not yet have a fixed budget, the invitation estimated its opening spending at $1 million, a figure that Perrin confirmed.
Members will have their dues determined by their relative share of the funds that all members have invested in funding assets globally. Other funders reticent about sharing the size of their deployments can join the organization for a flat fee of $25,000.
But those flat-fee payers (as long as there are at least four) will have to elect one representative to the organization’s management committee. Any firm responsible for at least 15% of the group’s total deployment will automatically have one representative on the committee, while two other at-large seats will be awarded by a vote.
The group will be headquartered in Washington, D.C., and have a significant presence in London. Neither Perrin, nor other members of the executive board, are being paid for their service.
Perrin’s fund, Calunius, is not part of the organization, as it is no longer making new investments and is in the process of paying off its investors. But he said he and his four partners are weighing their next steps in the industry.
“I don’t think you’ve heard the last of any of us,” he said.
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Therium’s co-founder, Neil Purslow, has been quoted in the Financial Times article about the growth of Litigation funders in the UK.
Therium Capital Management, the litigation funder behind Noel Edmonds taking on Lloyds Banking Group, yesterday announced the completion of £300m in new funding, thought to be led by US insurer Amtrust Financial.
The firm completed its first close at £200m, with another £100m expected from both its existing investor and new “global institutional investors”, it said yesterday. The fund will be deployed over the next two years.
Therium declined to reveal the identities of its investors, but it is thought Amtrust, a New York based insurer with almost $24bn (£17bn) in assets, is the main backer.
As well as the recently announced case brought by celebrity television presenter Edmonds, Therium is currently funding a £550m case against Lloyds brought by shareholders related to its acquisition of HBOS during the financial crisis, which will finish next month.
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Litigation firm Therium to fund not-for-profit case. Litigation firm Therium to fund not-for-profit cases as legal aid slashed.
Litigation specialist Therium is to provide £1 million in not-for-profit funding to people struggling to afford legal costs as it looks to tackle the “drastic consequences” of Government cuts.
Therium is teaming up with Labour peer Lord Falconer to fund cases and law centres in need of support in what is believed to be an industry first.
As part of the initiative, the organisation – best known for bankrolling high-profile City lawsuits – will focus on the advancement of human rights, equality and diversity, as well as the protection of children, the elderly, the disabled, asylum seekers and other disadvantaged groups.
An initial £1 million a year will be put up, with the figure likely to increase.
Lord Falconer, who will chair the Therium Access advisory committee, said: “The choking of legal support that we have witnessed in this country as a result of unprecedented cuts to legal aid has had drastic consequences on the vulnerable who are being denied access to justice, and on those individuals and organisations who work tirelessly to support them.
“The not-for-profit funding that Therium Access will provide through grants for cases and projects is urgently required to make some contribution towards restoring the right to legal support, which is the bedrock of our justice system.”
Access to legal aid has plummeted under the Conservatives, with funding falling by 20% since 2013 to £1.6 billion a year in 2018.
Legal aid stood at around £40 per head in 2010, but by 2018 this had fallen to just £24 a head.
There are an estimated 1 million people living in areas with no legal aid provision and grants awarded by Therium Access are intended to provide access to justice to those who “lack the funds necessary to pursue or defend claims”.
Applicants will have to apply for the funding through a solicitor or barrister.
Therium co founder Neil Purslow told the Press Association: “We can’t replace legal aid cuts, but they have created a clear need for this. We hope that other litigation funders also get on board as it would help expand our reach.”
John Byrne, co-founder and CEO of Therium, added: “This is something we have wanted to do for a long time as we came across deserving claimants that weren’t suitable for commercial claims.”
He added that it is the perfect way to mark Therium’s 10th anniversary.
Therium’s for-profit arm and core business model involves funding lawsuits and then taking a portion of the damages if successful.
It has bankrolled the class action lawsuit against car giant Volkswagen over the emissions scandal and is the money behind Noel Edmonds’ legal war with Lloyds Bank.
Read full aricle in the Daily Mail here
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First initiative of its kind dedicated to facilitating access to justice in the litigation funding industry
Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Secretary of State for Justice will chair the Advisory Committee
The launch of Therium Access coincides with Therium’s 10 year anniversary
Therium Group Holdings Limited, one of the world’s leading providers of litigation, arbitration and specialty legal finance, today announced the launch of Therium Access, which will provide not-for-profit litigation funding in order to facilitate access to justice.
Therium Access is the first-of-its-kind initiative in the litigation funding industry. Grants awarded by Therium Access are intended to provide access to justice to those who lack the funds necessary to pursue or defend claims, as well as to projects that seek to improve access to justice.
Therium Access is the primary expression of Therium’s corporate and social responsibility programme. Therium Access dispenses with the criteria of funding for profit and has the sole purpose of facilitating access to justice by funding cases and projects which could not usually be funded on a commercial basis. Therium Access is a mark of Therium’s wider commitment to the pursuit of justice and the rule of law, and its launch coincides with the firm’s 10th anniversary.
John Byrne, Co-Founder and CEO of Therium Capital Management Limited, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of Therium Access, which is dedicated to improving access to justice by providing not-for -profit litigation funding for cases and projects of public interest. Therium is ten years old this year and the making of the first Therium Access grants in April will be a fantastic way to mark the firm’s 10th anniversary.”
Lord Falconer, Chairman of Therium Access Advisory Committee said: “I am delighted to chair this important initiative, which is a first for the litigation funding industry and will hopefully lead the way for further initiatives. The choking of legal support that we have witnessed in this country as a result of unprecedented cuts to legal aid has had drastic consequences on the vulnerable who are being denied access to justice, and on those individuals and organisations who work tirelessly to support them. The not-for-profit funding that Therium Access will provide through grants for cases and projects is urgently required to make some contribution towards restoring the right to legal support, which is the bedrock of our justice system.”
The first grants will be announced in April. The deadline for the submission of the next round of grant applications is 30 August 2019. Applications need to be made by legal representatives or the entity seeking a grant. The board of Therium Access will be assisted by an Advisory Committee which will be chaired by Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Secretary of State for Justice. Further appointments to the advisory committee will be announced in due course.
Therium Access aims to support access to justice in the broadest terms and considers applications that further the following causes (in no particular order):
- The right to legal representation or due process;
- The proper and efficient administration of justice;
- The advancement of human rights;
- The promotion of equality of rights and diversity;
- The protection of children, the elderly, the disabled, minorities, asylum seekers and other vulnerable or disadvantaged groups;
- The advancement of environmental protection or improvement;
- The promotion of legal education that furthers the causes listed above; and
- Any other case or project in which a person, group, or entity will not have access to justice without financial assistance.
Therium Access is intended to be a global initiative, its initial focus will be on the UK and it will be rolled out in other jurisdictions in a number of planned phases.
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About Therium
Therium is a leading global provider of litigation and arbitration and specialty legal finance, active in England and Wales since 2009. Over that period, Therium has funded claims with a total value exceeding £34 billion, including many of the largest and most high profile funded cases in the UK. With investment teams in the UK, USA, Australia, Spain and Norway, Therium has established a track record of success in litigation finance in all forms, including single case litigation and arbitration funding, funding law firms and portfolios of litigation and arbitration claims. Therium is also a founding member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales.
Therium has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in litigation finance, pioneering the combined use of insurance tools alongside funding vehicles, and introducing portfolio funding products into the UK. Therium’s ability to develop innovative funding arrangements and bespoke financial solutions for litigants and law firms complements its unmatched experience and rigorous approach to funding a wide range of commercial disputes throughout the world.
In Chambers and Partners’ inaugural litigation support directory 2018, Therium was ranked as a Tier 1 litigation funder, and Neil Purslow, the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, was named a leading individual in the litigation funding industry.
In February this year, Therium Capital Management was top ranked as one of the two “Leading” litigation and arbitration funding firms in the UK by legal and business directory Leaders League, in their 2019 ranking of litigation funding. Therium was also ranked as “Excellent” in the 2019 US ranking.
Media enquiries
Desiree Maghoo
Questor Consulting
+44 (0)7775 522740
dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com
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Therium launched full service litigation funding operations in Melbourne on January 1, headed by Simon Dluzniak
Therium Capital Management, a leading global provider of litigation finance, announced today that Louise Hird has been appointed to the firm as an investment manager. Louise joins Therium from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where she was a director leading investigations focused on consumer and competition law. Founded in 2009, Therium is one of the largest and most established litigation financing firms in the world. The firm has funded claims valued at $36 billion.
Therium Capital Management Australia Pty Ltd is headquartered in Melbourne and is led by Simon Dluzniak, who has worked in the funding industry in Australia and the UK since 2003.
Therium has funded claims in Australia since 2011 and is currently funding high profile shareholder class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd and Spotless Group Holdings Ltd, as well as delivery management software company GetSwift Ltd. Therium Capital Management Australia will continue to finance class actions and general commercial, insolvency and arbitration claims. The firm will also seek to develop the country’s emerging corporate funding and portfolio funding markets, as well as investigate the funding of arbitration claims in Hong Kong and Singapore, both of which are emerging markets for litigation finance.
Simon Dluzniak, Head of Therium Capital Management Australia, said: “We are very excited about launching our office in Melbourne and delighted that Louise has joined the team. Her competition experience will be invaluable as we continue to deliver innovative funding solutions for our clients. Whilst our business has been very successful in Australia for some time and we are funding some major cases, having a team on the ground ensures that we are closer to our clients, and better positioned to capitalise on market opportunities in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region more broadly.”
Louise Hird, Investment Manager at Therium Capital Management Australia, said: “I have known of Therium for many years and have been hugely impressed. The team has tremendous experience in funding highly complex, often cross border cases, both claimant and defendant side, and has been at the forefront of developing the industry globally. I am very excited to join the firm and look forward to building the business further in Australia and the wider region, as well as working with our international teams to leverage Australia’s long standing experience of funding.”
Prior to joining Therium, Simon spent 12 years with another international funder, leading on cases in Australia and the UK. He has significant funding experience, particularly in relation to class action and insolvency litigation, having managed a number of high-profile funded cases in both jurisdictions. Previously, Simon worked with corporate regulators in Australia and the UK, and at Ernst & Young. He graduated from La Trobe University with degrees in Arts (BA) and Law (LLB) in 1997.
At the ACCC, Louise led a wide variety of investigations into misconduct in various industries. She has advised at a high level on enforcement strategy and case formulation in complex matters, and managed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia. Louise has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws (Juris Doctor) from Monash University.
Therium has operations across Europe, including in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia, and in the US. Therium was the first commercial litigation funder to have operations on the ground in Germany and Scandinavia and it was the first European firm to launch a full service business in the US.
Litigation funding allows individuals and companies to take on litigation and arbitration cases that they might not otherwise be able to afford, and/or to hedge the costs and risks involved in such matters. Therium pays for all of the costs, including adverse costs in the event that the case is lost, and only receives payment if the case is won.
Therium Capital Management Australia Pty Ltd is located at: Level 3, 257 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Telephone: +61 (0)3 8375 9641.
ENDS
About Therium
Founded in 2009, Therium is a leading global litigation financing firm with a market-leading track record of generating superior returns for its investors. The firm works across all forms of commercial litigation and arbitration and invests in a broad range of complex commercial disputes, from securities and shareholder actions, international arbitration, competition and antitrust cases, through to intellectual property, insolvency and class actions. In February 2018, Therium announced its latest fund of £200 million, which the company is now actively deploying, and Therium has now raised nearly $800 million since its foundation. To date, the firm globally has funded claims valued at $36 billion. Therium has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in litigation finance, pioneering the combined use of insurance tools alongside funding vehicles, and introducing portfolio funding products into the UK.
The firm’s ability to develop innovative funding arrangements and bespoke financial solutions for litigants and law firms complements its unmatched experience and rigorous approach to funding a wide range of commercial disputes throughout the world. In Chambers and Partners’ inaugural litigation support directory this year, Therium was ranked as a Tier 1 litigation funder. Therium is a founder member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales.
Media enquiries
Desiree Maghoo
Questor Consulting
+44 (0)7775 522740
dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com
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More class action lawyers are piling onto GetSwift over the alleged breach of continuous disclosure rules but one class action is likely to go ahead.
On Friday, boutique shareholder class action law firm Phi Finney McDonald filed a class action against GetSwift, with funding from Therium Australia.
This means there are now three separate shareholder class actions filed against the ASX-listed GetSwift, including the one filed by Squire Patton Boggs and another filed by Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Quinn Emanuel is defending GetSwift.
On Tuesday GetSwift shares were trading at $0.465, down nearly 90 per cent from the December high of $4.60 around the time when the company announced a deal with Amazon.
But Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court said at a case management hearing on Friday that GetSwift should face only one class action case.
“I think we can say we’ve crossed the Rubicon that I am persuaded that you won’t be vexed with multiple proceedings,” Justice Lee said to GetSwift’s barrister Alan Shearer last week.
“It’s a question of what goes forward,” he said.
‘I’m a bargain’
Peter Brereton, SC, who is acting for the Corrs class action, said the claim was estimated to be worth between $120 million and $140 million and about 200 people have signed up to the action.
Squire Patton Boggs’ class action barrister William Edwards said the claim was estimated to be between $75 million and $100 million, with 100 people signed up to the action.
International Litigation Partners, which is funding the Squire Patton Boggs class action, would take a 22.5 per cent commission on the settlement sum, Mr Edwards said.
Squire Patton Boggs in its initial media announcement in February “estimates that the total claim size may exceed $300 million”, although Mr Edwards denied that was the case and blamed the media for publishing the figure.
“There’s no evidence about whether or not that was in fact an accurate record […] the press likes to exaggerate these things,” he said on Friday.
The court heard on Friday the Phi Finney McDonald’s partners working on the case had a charge-out rate of $737 an hour, compared to $962 at Corrs and $1045 for Squire Patton Boggs’ Amanda Banton.
“We’re, by far, the least expensive,” Phi Finney McDonalds’ class action barrister David Collins, QC, said.
When Justice Lee asked whether Mr Collins’ personal rates were “marginally more expensive than a partner at Corrs but significantly cheaper than Ms Banton’s”, Mr Collins quipped: “I’m a bargain. Everyone knows that.”
The class actions and an Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation of the company were triggered by an investigation in The Australian Financial Review into GetSwift’s market announcements and failure to disclose contract losses.
Read the full article on afr.com
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English lawyers are bringing a series of allegations against Volkswagen
A London court has indicated that it will give the green light to a group lawsuit by around 60,000 English car owners against Volkswagen, over the “dieselgate” scandal.
Lawyers for Slater and Gordon and Leigh Day said on Thursday they had been awarded a joint legal lead in the lawsuit, which will be the largest in English legal history, subject to any further applications by other law firms.
Volkswagen has said about 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with software that cheated US diesel emissions tests designed to limit noxious car fumes and carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution.
About 1.2 million Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and SEAT vehicles are affected in Britain.
English lawyers are bringing a series of allegations, including that Volkswagen manufacturers defrauded drivers, that “defeat devices” – engine management software designed to mask pollution levels – broke EU rules, that a Volkswagen software fix has caused other problems with cars and that drivers overpaid for vehicles.
“It has been two years since the scandal broke and the only thing that VW has offered UK consumers is a fix that our clients have told us doesn’t work,” said Gareth Pope, a litigation lawyer at Slater and Gordon.
“Now those consumers have the chance to hold VW to account for their deceit and will finally have their day in court,” he added.
Volkswagen has already agreed a multi-billion settlement with the US authorities and owners of affected vehicles, but the company has said it will fight the UK legal action.
“We intend to defend these claims robustly and are confident of a successful outcome,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said, stating the software has not been proven illegal in the UK and many cars had been fixed.
Read full article in The Telegraph