Search
The High Court (Lady Justice Cockerill sitting as a High Court judge) today gave judgment on liability issues in the largest group litigation ever mounted before the English courts, which consolidated 1.6 million claims for damages brought on behalf of purchasers of diesel vehicles. The central issue was whether vehicles produced by 15 leading car manufacturers contained unlawful ‘defeat devices’ designed to distort test results by reducing the effectiveness of emissions control systems that limit nitrous oxides (NOx). The Claimants argued that the manufacturers had cheated the test by using software that recognised when the vehicle was subject to the test cycle and that their vehicles emitted higher levels of NOx on the road. The Defendants denied that there had been any breach of the regulated emissions limits or any distortion of ECS performance and that their engineering designs and calibrations were necessary to achieve effective diesel combustion and/or prevent engine damage or safety risks. The case raised very complex issues of fact and expert mechanical engineering and software evidence, as well as many important issues of EU and retained EU law (the relevant regulatory framework being derived from EU law but maintained in Great Britain post-Brexit).
George Peretz KC and George Hilton acted for Ford, and Anneli Howard KC acted for Nissan. The judge accepted arguments regarding the interpretation of the key provisions in the relevant legislation that were advanced by both Ford and Nissan, and on that basis found that none of the Ford or Nissan vehicles at issue in the trial contained unlawful defeat devices.