Overview
Court: Superior Court of Quebec, Court File No.: 500-06-000838-173
Ticker Symbol: FRA: VOW & VOW3, OTC: VLKAY & VLKPY
Table of Contents
On behalf of Québec-based investors, only.
THE SUPERIOR COURT OF QUÉBEC HAS AUTHORIZED THE BRINGING OF A CLASS ACTION ON BEHALF OF ALL QUÉBEC-BASED INVESTORS THAT PURCHASED VW’S DEBT AND EQUITY SECURITIES DURING THE CLASS PERIOD. PLEASE SEE THE NOTICE TO CLASS MEMBERS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
This shareholder class action is on behalf of Québec-domiciled purchasers of the debt and equity securities of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (hereafter “VW”). The claim alleges that VW released investor documents containing affirmative misrepresentations and omissions of material fact that it secretly installed software to manipulate the quantity of pollutants being discharged from certain of its diesel engines while the vehicles with said diesel engines were being tested for compliance with the applicable emissions standards.
In addition to containing the aforementioned misrepresentation, VW’s disclosure documents stressed that its investment quality was not measured solely on the basis of units sold or financial performance, but rather, included all areas of the Company such as being “more environmentally friendly” and “sustainable mobility” by being the first automaker to commit to cutting NO2 emissions.
On September 18, 2015, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter “EPA”) and the California Air Resources Board (hereafter “CARB”) publicly issued letters indicating that VW had admitted to systematically defrauding investors and the public for years by deliberately cheating U.S. emission tests and making its diesel vehicles appear cleaner than they actually were. Subsequently, a VW executive admitted to the United States Congress that on May 15, 2014 (or more than 16 months prior to the EPA and CARB making public Volkswagen’s actions), he had been informed that VW’s vehicles did not meet governing emissions standards and that the defeat device software had also been secretly installed on diesel-powered vehicles for the European market.
Québec-resident Investors: On May 28, 2018, the Superior Court of Québec denied Volkswagen’s motion to dismiss the claim on the basis of jurisdictional grounds. The decision can be read at Chandler v. Volkswagen AG, 2018 QCCS 2270, which was upheld on appeal at 2018 QCCA 1347, and then the class definition was affirmed to include purchasers of Volkswagen’s equity and bonds, which can be read at 2019 QCCS 467.
