A German law firm that has filed a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen over the emissions scandal on behalf of over 6,000 Slovenian consumers has reached a settlement with the German car giant. The settlement comes nine years after Volkswagen admitted to the fraud.

The settlement was announced by the Slovenian Consumer Association (ZPS) on 19 November. Not being a party to the case, it gave no details about the amount of the damages or how much individual claimants received.

Following the global Dieselgate scandal, the association organised a campaign called PreVWara (a pun on the words fraud and Volkswagen) which attracted more than 6,500 consumers.

When the Slovenian consumers decided to sue Volkswagen in Germany, Slovenian legislation did not yet make it possible to bring class action lawsuits.

This is why the German law firm Financialright brought the lawsuit against Volkswagen in March 2018 before a court in the German city of Braunschweig.

Since the court scheduled no hearing on the merits of case in over six years, Financialright decided to seek an out-of-court settlement.

The ZPS said the class action involved no financial risks for the Slovenian consumers because they assigned their claims to the German firm, which took on all the risks and covered all expenses.

The association welcomed the settlement as "an important victory for both Slovenian consumers and the ZPS, which is a milestone in holding companies accountable".

In autumn 2015, Volkswagen admitted to equipping eleven million diesel cars worldwide with software which ensured that the harmful emissions tested lower than they actually were.

ZPS president Breda Kutin said in the press release that while the US had acted swiftly in the Dieselgate scandal, no such efficiency could be seen at EU level and consumers in different EU countries had been treated in different ways although they had all been victims of the same scandal.

While the amount of damages has not been officially disclosed, TV Slovenija reported based on information of the plaintiffs who came forward that they were much lower than those paid to consumers in similar class actions in other countries.

In one case Financialright negotiated compensation of around €70 (€46 net) for the Slovenian owner of a 2009 diesel Golf, and €370 (around €240 net) for a 2007 Golf with the diesel engine in question. Financialright is contractually entitled to 35% of the amount awarded or negotiated in the settlement, the report said.