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What is This Claim About?
Mercedes owners in the U.K. are seeking damages after the carmaker equipped vehicles with defeat devices designed to deceive emissions tests.
The emissions scandal is alleged to have affected more than a million drivers.
Who’s Eligible?
If you purchased a Mercedes powered by a BlueTEC diesel engine between 2008 and 2018, you may be eligible to make a claim.
Affected models include, but are not limited to:
- A-Class
- B-Class
- C-Class
- Citan
- CLA
- CLS
- E-Class
- GL-Class
- GLA-Class
- GLC-Class
- GLE-Class
- GLS
- M-Class
- S-Class
- SLK
- Sprinter
- V-Class
- Vito
How Much Compensation Will I Receive?
While the amount has yet to be determined, if the case is successful, qualified Class Members could be entitled to as much the vehichle’s purchase price.
How Do I Join?
Register on the Mercedes Diesel Claims website.
Several law firms in Britain are seeking clients to represent in the Mercedes emissions group litigation.
Those interested in becoming claimants may contact any of the following firms and register on their websites:
- Car Emissions Lawyers
- Charles Lyndon
- Fox Williams
- Group Action Lawyers
- Hagens Berman
- Harcus Parker
- Hausfeld
- Leigh Day
- PGMBM
- R. James Hutcheon Solicitors
- Thompsons Solicitors Scotland
- Versus Law
More firms may be added before the case is resolved.
Mercedes Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Emissions Cheat Devices
Mercedes-Benz is alleged to have installed devices in diesel vehicles in order to cheat emissions tests, meaning nearly a million of the company’s vehicles in Britain may be releasing illegal levels of emissions.
Law firms PGMBM and Harcus Parker, among others, are investigating the allegations and accepting new clients in the Mercedes group action.
PGMBM filed a group action claim against Daimler AG, Mercedes’ parent company, in Liverpool’s High Court.
Mercedes-Benz has denied the allegations of wrongdoing, and Daimler AG has promised it will fight any group action litigation.
The potential award for claimants is unknown at this point, but law firms estimate they could receive up to the full purchase price of the vehicle in damages if the group action is successful.
The defeat devices allegedly used by Mercedes were previously under scrutiny in 2015 during the “dieselgate” scandal involving German automaker Volkswagen.
The devices temporarily limit the amount of nitrogen oxide in a vehicle’s exhaust to meet governmental requirements and pass emissions tests.
Nearly 100,000 drivers in England and Wales won a case against Volkswagen Group in April.
PGMBM claims emissions in the Mercedes case are up to 10 times the legal limit for the U.K. and European Union, and says Merdcedes-Benz owners may have had to pay higher-than-expected fuel and maintenance costs as a result.
“This case highlights how Mercedes has abused the trust of its customers by egregiously misleading them in the pursuit of profit,” PGMBM managing partner Tom Goodhead said. “We believe that Mercedes must be held to account for its unlawful and deceitful actions, and this case will give consumers the opportunity to do so, and be compensated for being misled by a supposedly trustworthy company.”
A Daimler AG spokesman refuted the allegations: “We believe that the claims are without merit and will vigorously defend against any group action.”
Also at issue in the Mercedes group action is an exhaust fluid known as AdBlue, which can be added to diesel engines in order to cut emissions. Daimler’s software system allegedly regulates the injection of AdBlue to break nitrogen oxide down into nitrogen and water.
While Mercedes claims this makes theirs the “cleanest diesel cars ever,” PGMBM alleges the system can be manipulated to lower the amount of AdBlue injected after a time, causing higher nitrogen oxide emissions. This means the amount being produced on U.K. roads is much higher than what is produced under testing conditions.
A recent £1.6 billion Mercedes settlement in the United States may reinforce the allegations against the company in the U.K.
Mercedes has agreed to pay over £532 million ($700 million) to settle class action claims that U.S. vehicles were equipped with defeat devices; the remainder of the £1.6 billion will go to satisfy regulatory claims, according to LeedsLive.
But Mercedes maintains the U.S. settlement does not strengthen the U.K. case because the company manufactures those vehicles differently, Fleet News reported.
PGMBM says the company could potentially owe drivers up to £10 billion in damages.
