Hürden der Rechtsprechung Der Verbau unzulässiger Abschalteinrichtungen begründet die Haftung eines Fahrzeugherstellers nach §§ 31, 831, 826 BGB wegen vorsätzlich sittenwidriger Schädigung von Fahrzeugkäufern. Das hat der Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) mit Urteil vom 25.05.2020 gegen Volkswagen entschieden....

Unter dem Mangel eines Produkts versteht man im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch die qualitative Abweichung (Ist-Beschaffenheit) von der vereinbarten Spezifikation (SollBeschaffenheit). Zur Soll-Beschaffenheit des Produkts gehört -ebenfalls im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch- auch die Eignung des spezifizierten Produkts für seinen vereinbarten Verwendungszweck, also seine Brauchbarkeit für die Zwecke des...

Insurance contracts for product liability insurance contain two important exclusions of coverage: the exclusion of products that have been tested insufficiently (testing clause) and the exclusion due to deliberate deviation from written agreements....

Through Directive 2019/770/EU “on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services” and Directive 2019/771/EU “on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods”, both of May 22, 2019 and passed by the European Parliament and the Council, the digital world will enter European legislation on the sale of consumer products....

There are tension between Technology and Law, however, they cannot be separated. Each technical information has a legal relevance and vice-versa. The publication “Technik und Recht sind untrennbar” (“Technology and Law are inseparable”), published in the journal of the German Society of Quality (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualität e.V., DGQ) in April 2019, deals with the tension....

The diesel emission scandal has led to a flood of legal proceedings in Germany. The Eighth Panel of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), in Case VIII ZR 225/17, surprisingly indicated in a guidance order (issued despite the case having been settled out-of-court by the parties) that it may deem illegal defeat devices as a quality defect within the meaning of German contract of purchase law....

On 4th of July 2018 the Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC has entered into force.1...

It is -incorrectly- somehow common sense in the automotive industry top down, that in most cases the roote cause for a recall or a service campaign can be allocated at the (sole) responsibility of the supplier of a component or a system. This view is primarily recourse driven rather than based on serious technical analysis and legal assessment of responsibilities in terms of burden of proof....

The debate on so called “certificates of conformity” and their legal significance plays a major role in determining the legal claims a buyer may have against a vehicle manufacturer. Regulatory acts of the European Union such as the Framework Directive 2007/46/EC on type approval of motor vehicles provide rules regarding the “certificates of conformity”....

8D Reports are widely used in the automotive industry to handle customer complaints and in many ways, 8D Reports are useful documents. From a legal perspective, however, they also bear risks. The Reports are compiled by the supplier. The issues begin with the observation that 8D Reports are meant to present “facts”....