Public Organization “Ukrspozhyvkontrol” is planning to initiate a class (group) action lawsuit against Volkswagen Group in Ukraine. This news was shared by Pavlo Kuftyryev, attorney at law and Managing partner of Greco Law Company during his speech at the forum Waste Management in Ukraine: Legislation, Economics, Technologies.
“For the first time, we are filing a lawsuit under the opt-out model, which means that the rights of an unlimited range of consumers are protected within one court proceeding. GRECO is the only law firm in Ukraine that has an impressive knowledge in class action lawsuits. GRECO team was the one to help the residents of Vasylkiv, who suffered in a result of a fire at an oil storage facility in the village of Kryachky (Vasylkiv district), to receive monetary compensation for the damage caused.” – Pavlo Kuftyryev said.
In his speech, Mister Kuftyryev particularly emphasized the environmental aspect of the lawsuit and misleading consumers. All over the world, citizens have received compensation for such unlawful actions of Volkswagen Group, while in Ukraine no compensation was recovered, and no due attention was paid to this issue at all. ” War is war, but Volkswagen must compensate Ukraine for environmental damage and for the harm caused to people. This is a fundamental issue for us right now.” – Managing partner of Greco Law Company shared.
According to Pavlo Kuftyryev, the PO “Ukrspozhyvkontrol” addressed to Greco lawyers precisely because this is the only law firm in Ukraine that has a successful experience in leading class action cases. At all stages of preparation and filing a group (class) action lawsuit against Volkswagen Group in Ukraine, the direct management will be carried out by Oleh Shchelkunov, partner of Greco Law Company and a Chairman of the Ukrainian Bar Association Committee on consumer rights protection.
Earlier, as a result of the scandal called Dieselgate, Volkswagen group has paid around $ 20 billion in compensation for a diesel emission indicators fraud. Under various estimates, at least 11 million vehicles could be impacted.