The Supreme Court of Canada recently heard and dismissed an
appeal in the "dieselgate" pollution class action case,
Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. v. Association
québécoise de lutte contre la pollution
atmosphérique. The Supreme Court allowed a $300 million
class action against Volkswagen to proceed where the plaintiffs
would not be claiming (or proving) damages for direct injury
suffered by any person. The plaintiffs, led by a public interest
environmental advocacy group, can move forward with their claim in
respect of environmental wrongdoing, even though it only seeks
punitive damages.
Background
The case arises from the scandal known as
"dieselgate", whereby certain Volkswagen and Audi diesel
vehicles were secretly equipped with devices to falsify emissions
test results. As a result, the vehicles in question, manufactured
between 2009 and 2015 and estimated to include 100,000 vehicles
sold in Canada, produced emissions that exceeded applicable
Canadian
