Aug 6, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Daimler, BMW & Volkswagen To Upgrade Millions of Diesels
Automobilemag.com reported that
[a]t a conference with regulators this week, German automakers BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen agreed to offer upgrades on nearly 5 million diesel models in an attempt to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by at least 25 percent. They will also offer trade-in deals to customers who own older diesel vehicles. By doing this, they hope to avoid driving bans that have been threatened in several cities around Europe.
Automobilemag.com also reported that “Volkswagen will reportedly recall 3.8 million vehicles for upgrades, while Daimler will recall 900,000, and BMW will recall 300,000.”
Daimler, BMW & Volkswagen – Promise to Introduce Measures to Reduce Emissions
The Irish Times reported that
[t]his week’s stage-managed “diesel summit” in Berlin did little to clean up the tarnished image of the German auto giants. Choreographed presentations from the bosses of BMW, Daimler and VW Group promised to introduce measures to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the byproduct of diesel most harmful to human health. More than five million vehicles on the roads of Europe are likely receive a software “update” or fix.
Details of how the software will work, what knock-on effect it may have on the vehicle’s reliability, or whether it will pass the required tests, are still unclear. Many are understandably s[k]eptical.
Daimler, BMW & Volkswagen Diesel Software Updates – $593 Million
Reuters reported that
Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are facing costs of at least 500 million euros ($593 million) to update the engine software of diesel cars in Germany to curb emissions, the VDA auto industry lobby said.
In addition, the costs of paying car owners incentives for trading in their older diesel cars for new models will far exceed 500 million euros for the three carmakers, VDA President Matthias Wissmann said . . . at a news conference.
Did You Purchase or Lease A BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche or Mercedes-Benz?
If so, your rights under federal law may have been violated. If you would like to speak privately with an attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Aug 6, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Audi, BMW, Daimler/Mercedes-Benz, Porsche & Volkswagen – Class Action Lawsuit Filed
On August 2, 2017, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, against leading German automobile manufacturers Audi, BMW, Daimler/Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen for, according to the complaint:
. . . abusing their collective market power to illegally stifle competition, retard innovation and garner profits no matter the adverse impact to consumers or the environment. As far back as the 1990s, Defendants are reported to have regularly met to coordinate on costs, prices, suppliers, technical development and other competitive aspects regarding everything from brake controls and chassis to electronics and car assembly. Specifically, Defendants reportedly coordinated on the cleaning tanks (AdBlue tanks) used in diesel emissions systems – tanks that were known to be too small and are now the cause of illegal pollution in cities throughout the world, including in California and the United States.
The class action complaint further alleges that
The Defendants’ conspiracy, in which they and named and unnamed co-conspirators agreed to share commercially-sensitive information and reached unlawful agreements regarding such competitive aspects of their respective automobile manufacturing businesses, was carried out with the aim of excluding, restraining, and suppressing competition, and has harmed consumers, including Plaintiffs and the Classes, by, inter alia, causing them to pay unlawfully inflated prices and increased maintenance costs for diesel passenger vehicles manufactured and sold by Defendants . . ..
According to the complaint, German diesel passenger vehicles include diesel engine vehicles made by any of the Defendants and not purchased as a commercial vehicle, including, but not limited to, sedans, coupes, hatchbacks, and wagons, in addition to SUVs/crossovers, vans, and trucks.
The complaint further alleges that
[s]ignificantly, the European Commission (“EC”) Competition authorities in Brussels and Germany’s Federal Cartel Office have confirmed that they are investigating Defendants’ participation in anticompetitive activities. In fact, two of the three ultimate parent companies in the conspiracy – Volkswagen AG (which controls Audi AG and Porsche AG) and Daimler AG – have already (i) admitted to the EC Competition authorities and Germany’s Federal Cartel Office that they coordinated with co-defendants and/or other unnamed co-conspirators on competitive aspects of their businesses, and (ii) been cooperating with the EC Competition authorities in the hopes of obtaining amnesty or leniency for their anticompetitive misconduct.
Did You Purchase or Lease A BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche or Mercedes-Benz?
If so, your rights under federal law may have been violated. If you would like to speak privately with an attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Aug 6, 2017 | Securities Class Action Archive
Electronics For Imaging – Internal Control Weakness Expected To Be Reported
On August 3, 2017, after the close of trading, Electronics for Imaging (NASDAQ: EFII) announced that it was postponing a conference call regarding its second quarter 2017 preliminary results in order to enable to the company to better assess the timing of revenue recognition related to certain sales transactions.
Specifically, the company announced that it is examining “certain transactions where a customer signed a sales contract for one or more large format printers and was invoiced, and the printer(s) were stored at a third party in-transit warehouse prior to delivery to the end user.”
Electronics for Imaging further disclosed that it is assessing the effectiveness of its current and historical disclosure and financial reporting controls, and that it expects to report a material weakness in internal control related to these transactions. The company stated that it expects to report that disclosure controls were not effective in prior periods as well.
Following this news, Electronics for Imaging’s share price fell sharply in after-hours trading.
Electronics For Imaging – Announces Postponement of Conference Call
Electronics For Imaging announcement that it is postponing a conference call during which it anticipated discussing second quarter 2017 preliminary results to enable Electronics For Imaging to complete an assessment of the timing of recognition of revenue can be viewed by clicking here.
Electronics For Imaging, Inc. Investment Losses?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares in Electronics For Imaging and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn more about the investigation, fill out the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Aug 3, 2017 | Blog
Robocalls – FTC Releasing Daily Data on Consumer Complaints
On August 1, 2017, the FTC issued a press release, FTC Escalates the Fight against Illegal Robocalls Using Consumer Complaints to Aid Industry Call-Blocking Solutions, stating, among other things, that:
[e]very day American consumers report tens of thousands of illegal robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission, and now the FTC is helping put that information to work boosting industry efforts to stop unwanted calls before they reach consumers.
Under a new initiative announced by the FTC, when consumers report Do Not Call or robocall violations to the agency, the robocaller phone numbers consumers provide will be released each day to telecommunications carriers and other industry partners that are implementing call-blocking solutions.
. . .
Unwanted and illegal robocalls are the FTC’s number-one complaint category, with more than 1.9 million complaints filed in the first five months of 2017 alone. By reporting illegal robocalls, consumers help law enforcement efforts to stop the violators behind these calls. In addition, under the initiative announced today, the FTC is now taking steps to provide more data, more often to help power the industry solutions that block illegal calls.
The consumer complaint data is crucial because many of today’s call-blocking solutions rely on “blacklists” — databases of telephone numbers that have received significant consumer complaints — as one way to determine which calls should be blocked or flagged before they reach consumers’ phones.
The new data that FTC is making available also will include the date and time the unwanted call was received, the general subject matter of the call (such as debt reduction, energy, warranties, home security, etc.), and whether the call was a robocall.
Have You Received Unwanted, Unsolicited or Harassing Telephone, Telemarketing, Autodial or Robocalls and/or Text Messages?
If you have received unwanted, unsolicited or harassing telephone, telemarketing, autodial or robocalls and/or text messages and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Jul 31, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche & Bentley – Alleged Price-Fixing Among German Automakers
On July 28, 2017, the New Jersey Law Journal reported that “[a] suit filed in federal court in New Jersey accuses German luxury carmakers of colluding to sell their cars at inflated prices in the United States.”
BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche & Bentley Accused of Participating in A 20-Year Conspiracy
The New Jersey Law Journal also reported that
[t]he [class action lawsuit] accuses the makers of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Bentley vehicles of participating in a 20-year conspiracy to unlawfully increase their vehicles’ prices through collaboration on technology, suppliers and emissions controls, according to the suit. Filed . . . on behalf of a nationwide class of car buyers, the [class action lawsuit] comes amid media reports that the companies face price-fixing investigations in the U.S. and Europe. A similar suit was filed on behalf of Canadian car buyers . . . in Montreal.
U.S. Department of Justice Investigating Antitrust Allegations
Further, the New Jersey Law Journal also reported that
[a]ccording to the [class action lawsuit], the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it is investigating the antitrust allegations, the plaintiffs said. The European Commission announced on July 22 that it was investigating antitrust allegations against the defendants, and the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s antitrust regulator, has confirmed that it received information from the defendants that may relate to operation of an antitrust cartel dating to the early 1990s. The statute of limitations was tolled by fraudulent concealment because no information about the alleged antitrust activities were available until July 21, when German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Volkswagen had disclosed participation in antitrust violations resulting from coordination with other German automakers about development of vehicles, cost suppliers and strategies for controlling emissions in diesel engines from at least the 1990s to the present, the suit said. News about the allegations caused the defendants’ share prices to plummet in German stock markets.
Automaker Collusion Harmed Buyers
According to a July 29, 2017 MirrorBusiness article:
. . . German auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler were hit with lawsuits this week charging the companies colluded illegally to drive up the prices of their cars.
The suits filed almost simultaneously in US and Canadian courts come as European authorities investigate the German carmakers cartel which allegedly struck unlawful bargains to share technology and strategy. According to one news report, US authorities also are reviewing the allegations.
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Jersey, three car owners accused the companies of two decades of conspiracy that hurt customers, court papers show. The residents of Florida, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, said the companies illegally shared information on costs, suppliers, markets, emissions equipment and other competitive matters.
That collusion harmed buyers because “they paid more for German luxury vehicles than they otherwise would have,” said the plaintiffs, who claimed to represent an entire class of American buyers.
The US lawsuit seeks “treble damages” at trial, although the amount was not specified. The suit filed in Montreal made similar allegations and seeks US$878 million (CAN US $1.1 billion) in damages.
Did You Purchase or Lease A German Luxury BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Bentley or Mercedes-Benz?
If so, your rights under federal law may have been violated. If you would like to speak privately with an attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
