17th January 2025
The Lawyer Top 20 Cases includes matters with the most significant sums in dispute as well as disputes involving high profile parties or issues. Rebecca Keating has featured in The Pan-NOx Emissions Group Litigation (Dieselgate).
The matter is the culmination of the Dieselgate story, which broke in late 2016. The High Court group action comprises over 1.2 million claimants and the total alleged damages are more than £6bn. The claimants allege that diesel vehicles sold in the UK by 19 separate car manufacturers contained “prohibited defeat devices” (PDDs), which reduce the effectiveness of emission control systems. In a 10-week technical trial in October 2025, the High Court is set to determine legal and factual issues relating to the alleged existence of the PDDs in vehicles belonging to five manufacturers designated as the lead defendants. This will be the High Court’s first opportunity to consider the EU Emissions Regulation following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and all 19 manufacturers will be bound by its findings, regardless of whether they participate in the trial.
The mammoth case will have its 10-week technical trial in October 2025, followed by a three-week trial in Spring 2026 to hear closing submissions and an eight-week quantum trial expected to start in October 2026. The litigation has seen 13 Group Litigation Orders (GLOs) made, which amounts to around 10 per cent of all GLOs ever granted by the English High Court.
Rebecca, instructed by Taylor Wessing, acts for the Nissan Authorised Dealerships.
Access The Lawyer Top 20 cases here.
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