In July 2020, the Diesel Emissions Justice Foundation (DEJF), which represents car users, summoned Daimler A.G. et al., manufacturer of, inter alia, Mercedes-Benz cars, in response to the diesel engine emissions scandal. At the request of the Car Claim Foundation, the Amsterdam District Court decided in a cause-list decision of 30 September 2020 to extend the (three-month) period for other parties to also issue a summons by two months (pursuant to Article 1018d of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure). [1] Cause-list decision of 30 September 2020 (Daimler, in Dutch) Despite the District Court’s initial impression that the case was complex from both a factual and legal perspective, it did not grant the possible three-month extension because Car Claim was already aware of DEJF’s case. The District Court held that this cause-list decision must be added to the central register for class actions, despite the fact that the WAMCA does not prescribe this. Car Claim itself had explicitly asked that its request for extension also apply to other representative entities, but the District Court did not decide on that request because it did not see what interest Car Claim had therein. The register now shows that writs of summons have also been issued by Car Claim and the Emission Claim Foundation. This likely means that the District Court will still have to decide whether Emissions Claim could also benefit from the extension request submitted by Car Claim.
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