The efforts of the foundation can be joined both by French car owners and users (through lease) and non-French car owners and users (through lease) from various countries in which we have retained counsel to represent your interests. The Netherlands-based site launched first, followed by Belgium last November.  

If you reside in France, please click here to quickly verify whether you are eligible to join the claim. In short, if you purchased or leased a 1.2, 1.6 or 2.0 litre diesel vehicle manufactured by Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Skoda or Porsche from 2009 through 2015, you are likely eligible.
If you own (or owned) a fleet of these cars for your business, you may also be eligible. Please email us at fleetowner@emissionsjustice.com to learn how to join the claim.

The legal proceedings are being financed by a third-party funder. As such, you will have no out of pocket costs to pursue your claim. You will only pay costs if we get a financial recovery for you. If we do not succeed in obtaining compensation for you, the third-party funder loses their investment and may have to pay certain costs incurred by the Defendants. In exchange for undertaking this risk, the third-party funder will take a fee of up to 27,5% excl. vat from the amount recovered, following subtraction of costs. This percentage may also turn out to be lower, depending on various circumstances which the foundation cannot determine. If we lose the case, you will not be charged anything for our time or costs.

We are asking you to join this group action and agree to our terms by completing the simple sign-up process on this website. Click here to sign up.

The Diesel Emissions Justice Foundation is a non-profit foundation established under Dutch law. It is an entity which is permitted to pursue a group action against Volkswagen Skoda, Audi, Porsche and SEAT and related parties in the Netherlands and to seek a global settlement in order to obtain adequate compensation on behalf of all European consumers.  It is backed by a litigation funder and by Corpocon Legal BV, which has been actively involved in the Diesel scandal for years and is supported by thousands of participants in the Netherlands. The purpose of the foundation is to create an international base for litigation in various jurisdictions in order to maximize pressure with the final goal to obtain just and reasonable compensation for the victims.

There are also other parties who are trying to get compensation from Volkswagen. Some have been active for five years but have not managed to reach any results yet. In the meantime, Volkswagen continues to evade its responsibility and to make any offer. The foundation believes that only a coordinated action in multiple countries will put enough pressure on Volkswagen to be effective. This international approach sets the foundation apart from other initiatives.

The foundation distinguingishes itself from other existing French and international initiatives because of tis reach : some initiatives limit themselves to procedures in a single country (such as The Netherlands, Belgium or France), the foundation’s initiative concerns every buyer or lessee of Volkswagen AG in Europe : -;when other initiatives focus solely on « consumers », physical persons as forulated in the French Consumer Code (introductory article), the foundation widens its scope to natural or legal persons (consumers, fleet owners, lessees with options to buy) :- the foundation has serious and credible funding to implement the representation strategy that has been put forth 

Given that this is much more costly than the approach taken by other initiatives, the contingency fee for the funder can be slightly higher in case of success. 

You are always free to join the foundation. However, we do not recommend participating in more than one foundation at the same time so in that case, we recommend terminating your registration with your previous foundation.

You can also join us if you are already a party in legal proceedings against Volkswagen. In that case, you may still benefit from a collective settlement and the pressure we are creating to achieve this.

In a nutshell, everybody who owns, owned or leased an affected car is eligible. So, you may be eligible for compensation also if you no longer own or lease your vehicle, or if you bought it second hand before January 2016. If you joined the ‘recall’ action organized by Volkswagen you still are eligible. If you are a consumer you are eligible. If you are a professional or you used the car both for private and professional reasons you are eligible.

For more information, see the tab “Join the Claim” under “Who can join”.

You will need to provide your VIN as well as proof of ownership and your identification. You will find your VIN on your vehicle itself as well as in the registration and sales documents. If you live in France, all the information you need is on your registration card. You will need to upload a scanned copy of a document mentioning the VIN upon registration and, preferably, a document proving the purchase or leasing of the car. You will also need personal identification.

The foundation is bringing claims against the following companies from the Volkswagen Group and their relevant subsidiaries:

• Volkswagen AG (incorporated in Germany)
• Audi AG (incorporated in Germany)
• Skoda Auto AS (incorporated in Czech Republic)
• SEAT SA (incorporated in Spain)
• Porsche (incorporated in Germany)

In addition, the Foundation may target other companies such as the French  importer, , and the software provider of Volkswagen, Robert Bosch GmbH.

This action is important not just for financial benefits to you, but also to hold VW accountable for their unfair commercial practices and the resulting damage to the environment. We will fight vigorously to obtain the maximum recovery for you while minimizing costs and risk. While US claimants received an average of $8,000 before costs, damages in Europe may be more modest due to a number of factors including; the relative ease of bringing group claims in the US, stricter regulatory enforcement mechanisms and intense political and governmental pressure applied on VW in the US. Ultimately, the amount of compensation you may receive will either be negotiated through a settlement or determined by the Court.

Yes, following subscription to the foundation, it is possible to cancel your participation agreement at 30 days’ notice. If you wish to cancel your participation with the foundation, please send an email to info@emissionsjustice.com. Only in two cases will cancellation no longer be possible: (i) should the foundation reach a settlement agreement with Volkswagen and (ii) if litigation commenced by the foundation shall have resulted in a positive outcome on the merits of the case. This is fair, because at that moment we will have delivered results benefitting you.

Details will be provided in the participation agreement.

No. The statutes of limitations differ in various countries in Europe, and a registration with the foundation will not interrupt the statute of limitation for car owners who purchased or leased their vehicle outside Belgium. If you bought or leased your car elsewhere, you should take action to prevent your claim from being time barred. If you wish to have more information on how to safeguard your rights, please contact us at info@emissionsjustice.com.

On the contrary the signing of the participation agreement in which you give a mandate to the foundation will result in an interruption of the statutes of limitation given that this happens before 15 July 2020.

One of the statutes of limitation in Belgium might be 1 September 2020 so don’t lose time and sign the participation agreement soon.

What sets the foundation apart from other initiatives is that it is prepared to litigate lawsuits for both French and non-French car owners in various jurisdictions throughout Europe, in order to increase the pressure on Volkswagen to offer adequate compensation. The foundation will first file a lawsuit in the Netherlands. This will probably be limited to representation of car owners and users who bought or leased their car in the Netherlands. In addition, the foundation will create a basis for litigation of claims of non-Dutch car owners in other EU countries such as France.

While it is difficult to predict how long it will last, it is anticipated this lawsuit will take at least 18-24 months to get to trial after the initial collective lawsuit is filed in the Netherlands or France. Frequent updates will be provided in this website. Should we succeed in bringing Volkswagen to the negotiation table, additional time may be required in order to obtain court approval for a settlement. In case additional litigation is required in the Netherlands and other European jurisdictions, it may take several years before results may be reached.

Yes, VW settled numerous class actions in the United States and Australia totaling over $25 billion US dollars.

Apart from that Volkswagen already has been condemned in Brazil before the Court of appeal and in the Czech Republic before the Court of First Instance.

Yes. You can find it by clicking on this link.

If you send an email with any questions to info@emissionsjustice.com, we will get in touch as soon as possible.