A Spanish court ordered [press release, in Spanish] automobile manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) [corporate website] and its subsidiary in Valladolid to pay €5,006 in a lawsuit regarding its emissions scandal. VW has been accused of implementing software [JURIST report] in its vehicles that could cheat emissions tests. The plaintiff was an owner of an Audi Q5 purchased in 2013 for about €50,000. Although the plaintiff sued for the entire value of the car, the judge estimated that the altered software has caused a 10 percent decrease [El Mundo report, in Spanish] in the value of the car. This is the first of six VW lawsuits in Spain that have resulted in a loss for the car company.

VW is facing legal difficulty around the world over the emissions scandal. This ruling comes just days after a US judge approved [JURIST report] a $14.7 billion settlement between VW and the US Department of Justice , the Federal Trade Commission, the state of California and car owners who filed a class action lawsuit over the company’s emissions scandal. In September a German court said VW faces over USD $8.2 billion in damage claims from investors. That same month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued [JURIST report] VW and its local subsidiary for misleading customers. In August a district court in Germany ruled [JURIST report] that a collective complaint against VW may move forward. Like US-style class-action lawsuits, the collective complaint was launched on behalf of multiple investors who lost money following the diesel emissions cheating scandal. Last March the US FTC filed suit [JURIST report] against VW for false advertising.