IBA Annual Conference Sydney 2017
8 Oct - 13 Oct 2017
Room C4.1, Convention Centre, Level 4
Session information
The ‘dieselgate’ crisis: actions and reactions from around the world to the Volkswagen emissions control case
Monday 9 October (0930 - 1230)
Committee(s)
Corporate Law Section
(Lead)
Business Human Rights Committee
Closely Held Companies Committee
Corporate and M&A Law Committee
Description
The Volkswagen emissions case (also known as ‘dieselgate’) erupted in 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group (VW). The EPA alleged that VW had programmed turbocharged direct injection diesel engines to activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing, potentially affecting about 11 million cars worldwide (500,000 in the US). VW then became the target of regulatory investigations in multiple countries, and received thousands of claims from car buyers and other third parties. VW’s stock price fell in value by a third in the days immediately following the news. Our speakers include an exciting combination of the lead US government investigator, VW outside counsel in Europe and buyer class-action counsel from Australia, as well as commentators on litigation and corporate social responsibility aspects. The panellists will bring their experience and insight to bear on a number of issues and questions arising from the VW case. This will be a very interactive session and will provide many opportunities for the audience to discuss these issues with highly respected experts.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
Andrew Frei | Dale & Lessmann LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Yuto Matsumura | MORI HAMADA & MATSUMOTO, Tokyo, Japan; Membership Officer, Corporate and M&A Law Committee |
Speakers
Freya Carkeek | BHP Billiton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
John Charles Cruden | Beveridge & Diamond PC, Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
Javier Fontcuberta | Cuatrecasas, Barcelona, Spain |
Jason Geisker | Maurice Blackburn, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Anke Meier | Noerr, Frankfurt, Germany |