November 1, 2023

Thousands of drivers given permission to sue BMW for illegal emissions devices

In January 2024, the High Court ruled that drivers could sue BMW for fitting some diesel vehicles with devices that tricked emissions tests. The illegal devices made it seem like BMW’s diesel cars were less-polluting than they actually were.

The UK has tough standards when it comes to emissions. As such, car manufacturers have to put their vehicles through rigorous air pollution checks. BMW is accused of using emissions- manipulating software to cheat these tests.

While BMW denies deliberately trying to trick the system, it has admitted to ‘mistakenly’ fitting emissions-cheating software into some of its diesel models. In response BMW recalled 11,700 diesel cars.

Lawyers claim that drivers in the UK have suffered significant financial losses because of BMW’s actions. They allege that many experienced excessively high fuel bills and maintenance costs, and because the cars breached EU and UK emissions regulations, they were likely worth much less than the drivers paid for them.

Motorists across the UK have decided to seek justice and compensation from BMW for their losses. And, in a significant win for the victims of this scandal, the UK court ruled that the car manufacturer would face legal action when it granted a Group Litigation Order (GLO).

What is a GLO and why is it important?

In the UK, if a group of people have experienced loss, or otherwise been harmed by an organisation’s law breaking, they can come together to fight for justice. But, before they can make a group claim at court, they have to apply for a GLO.

GLOs are designed to promote access to justice, particularly in cases where individual claimants may lack the resources or expertise to pursue claims independently. They also help avoid the risk of inconsistent judgments that could arise if similar claims were litigated separately.

GLO applications are not always successful. When deciding whether or not to grant a GLO, the judge might consider:

Whether the claims are sufficiently similar
Whether consolidating the claims into a single action would benefit all parties involved
The strength of the claimants’ case. If the claims are deemed weak or legally insufficient, the judge may be reluctant to grant a GLO.

In the BMW emissions case, Judge Lord Ericht approve the application for the GLO. As such, the claimants can now join together and have their cases managed collectively. The ruling is a significant win for the drivers who want to hold BMW to account for allegedly trying to cheat emissions tests.