Hausfeld has teamed up with Irish law firm O’Dwyer Solicitors to prosecute Volkswagen in the European Union in the wake of the carmaker’s emissions scandal.
O’Dwyer secured the first European court order for discovery against Volkswagen last month. Now name partner Evan O’Dwyer has revealed he will coordinate his efforts to sue the carmaker with US giant Hausfeld, which is bringing similar claims in the German courts.
O’Dwyer told The Lawyer he had sought to “set up coordination across the EU between law firms bringing claims against Volkswagen” following his successful discovery order. He said: “I want to get a network in place so when the information is available it can be used to full effect”, and added he wanted there to be a “coordinated effort” to make sure lawyers are attacking the documents.
Hausfeld is the first firm to sign up to the group, though O’Dwyer said he was in talks with a number of other firms, including Irwin Mitchell.
Slater & Gordon and Leigh Day are also bringing claims against Volkswagen in the UK, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has launched a shareholder claim against the manufacturer in Germany with funding from Bentham Europe.
O’Dwyer’s discovery order is expected to have a significant impact on all other claims brought by firms in EU countries and will be watched closely. O’Dwyer said there would be a “sea change” in European claims against Volkswagen when the requested material was made available at the start of August.
The next hearing has been scheduled for 6 September unless Volkswagen appeals the discovery order.
Volkswagen is represented by A&L Goodbody in Ireland, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is advising it in relation to claims in the UK and France, and Kirkland & Ellis is defending in the US class action.
Judge Mary Devins at a County Mayo district court granted the order in a claim for damages by O’Dwyer’s client, a Volkswagen car owner. The claim followed an admission by the manufacturer last year that it had installed “defeat devices” in millions of diesel cars sold worldwide to trick emission testers.
Hausfeld announced it would bring a number of claims on behalf of investors and customers in December. Burford Capital is putting up a pot of £30m for the dispute, which has not yet been filed. The US firm will bring the claims in the German courts from its recently launched Berlin office.
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