Volkswagen emissions case back in Castlebar court

THE spotlight will be on Castlebar District Court today (Tuesday) when the latest twist in the Volkswagen emissions scandal unfolds in a David and Goliath case between the global giant and a Co Roscommon nurse.
The hearing, in front of Judge Mary Devins, reportedly will explore in public for the first time the original expert opinion the global giant used to develop a solution for the affected car engines. The company has admitted fitting more than 11 million cars with devices designed to cheat US emissions tests.
Represented by Evan O’Dwyer, Ms Eithne Higgins, of Portobello, Croughan, Boyle, Co Roscommon, owns a 2010 Seat Leon 1.6, one of the 110,000 Irish cars affected by the scandal. According to last Saturday’s Irish Times, the Co Mayo case ‘is likely to have international ramifications’ with the Higgins’ case already making the front page of The Wall Street Journal and being the subject of a feature in Germany’s Handelsblatt, a business newspaper.
Indeed, Mr O’Dwyer has teamed up with US lawyer, Michael Hausfeld, a member of the team that negotiated the US settlement with Volkswagen. Last June Volkswagen made a $15 billion deal, which compensated some 500,000 US car owners. However, Matthias Muller, the company’s chief executive, subsequently said such a deal was unaffordable on this side of the Atlantic.
Volkswagen Ireland’s legal representatives, A&L Goodbody, have denied any wrongdoing by their client and say they will pursue Ms Higgins for costs. Last Thursday they unsuccessfully sought an adjournment of tomorrow’s hearing to all more time for the consideration of affidavits presented by Mr O’Dwyer for Ms Higgins. It is likely that the car company will argue that its so-called cheat devices did not violate Irish laws as NOx (Nitrogen oxide) emissions are not even measured here in NCT tests.