Mercedes Group Claim In Britain Could Be Bolstered By US Settlement

UPDATE: A website has been established for consumers wishing to register as claimants in this case. Click here to register on the Mercedes Diesel Claims website.

The legal allegations against Mercedes in the U.K. over the reported emissions scandal have been reinforced by a £1.6 billion Mercedes settlement in the United States.

Mercedes recently agreed to pay over £532 million ($700 million) to settle class action claims that vehicles in the U.S. were equipped with defeat devices used to deceive emissions tests, with the remainder going to satisfy regulatory claims, according to LeedsLive.

Mercedes owners in the U.K. are seeking damages after the emissions scandal, which allegedly affected over a million drivers.

Mercedes claims the U.S. settlement does not strengthen the U.K. case at all, because the vehicles sold in the U.S. are manufactured differently than the U.K. vehicles, according to Fleet News. 

About 1.2 million possible claimants who own or owned Mercedes vehicles in England and Wales have been affected by the emissions scandal, including private owners and businesses such as car hire firms.

Now that a settlement has been reached in the U.S., there is heightened hope for the U.K. case. 

The claimants in the U.K. Mercedes emissions scandal case could be eligible to receive up to £10,000 each in the group claim, This Is Money reported. 

Law firm Fox Williams has strengthened its investigation into the Mercedes emissions scandal in England and Wales by uniting with U.S. lawyers from Hagens Berman. 

The specific claims in the U.K. case include illegal emissions from Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesel vehicles, according to LeedsLive.

Allegedly, the Mercedes BlueTEC expend higher levels of nitrogen oxide in real-world road conditions than they did in tests, This Is Money reported. Defeat devices are thought to have intentionally concealed the high levels of nitrogen oxide.

A group claim regarding the diesel emissions scandal has been filed in the Liverpool High Court against Mercedes-Benz UK’s parent company, Daimler AG, according to Business Leader.

U.K. lawyers are optimistic about the U.S. Mercedes emissions scandal settlement outcome because it may be a signal of what is to come in the U.K.

However, lawyers predict U.K. drivers will be awarded an even larger settlement. Lawyers in the case say the potential damages owed by Daimler could be up to £10 billion, Business Leader reported.

PGMBM, the law firm that filed the U.K. claim, disclosed that more than 65,000 affected Mercedes owners in England and Wales joined the class-action lawsuit against Daimler.

However, the law firm believes there may be up to a million Mercedes owners who have been affected by the emissions scandal, according to Business Leader. 

Mercedes disagrees.

“With regard to the U.S. settlement, the vehicles in question were produced exclusively for the North American market,” a Mercedes-Benz UK spokesperson told Fleet News. “The emissions control system of U.S. vehicles differs in comparison to vehicles in Europe both with respect to hardware components and configuration of the control software. In addition, the legal framework and the certification process in the U.S. is different to that in Europe. We believe the claims brought forward by the U.K. law firms are without merit, and will vigorously defend against any group action.”

Do you drive a Mercedes? Do you plan to pursue joining the class action claim? Let us know in the comments.

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