700 Slovaks join Dieselgate class-action lawsuit

Almost 700 Slovak owners of cars with manipulated software have reacted to a call made by the Consumer Protection Society (S.O.S.) from Poprad (Prešov region) in December to join collective efforts by car owners in Europe aimed at claiming compensation related to the emissions scandal known as Dieselgate from two years ago, TASR learnt on Tuesday. Second-hand and other car owners, both private individuals and companies are eligible to join the international effort, which concerns vehicles bought between January 1, 2009 and September 18, 2015, said Petra Čakovská, project manager of S.O.S., which is a member of the European Consumer Organisation. The people who sign up should then be represented in court by an American law firm, which wants 35 percent of the potential compensation in case of success, said Čakovská, noting that some 15,000 people from Germany and 6,500 car owners from Slovenia have responded.