Daimler Investors Seek $1 Billion Over Diesel Disclosure

(Bloomberg) --

Daimler AG was sued by more than 200 shareholders for as much as 900 million euros ($1 billion) over claims the parent of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars failed to properly disclose that its vehicles were fitted with technology to cheat on diesel emissions tests.

The suits were filed in a court in Stuttgart, Germany on behalf of institutional investors, including banks, investment companies, insurances and pension funds from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, Andreas Tilp, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement. He didn’t disclose their names.

A spokeswoman for the Stuttgart-based company said the cases are without merit and the company will fight them with all legal means.

Daimler now faces similar fallout to that of its peer Volkswagen AG, which has been battling a 9 billion-euro investor suit over how it informed the markets about the diesel scandal. In September, Daimler settled a probe by Stuttgart prosecutors, agreeing to pay 870 million euros for “negligent violation of supervisory duties” in the probe that looked into the selling of rigged diesel cars.

The suits claim Daimler cheated investors and failed to inform them about risks and costs of the software installed in diesel vehicles. The cases cover shareholders who bought stock between July 10, 2012 and June 20, 2018, Tilp said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Peter Chapman, Tom Lavell

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