Martin Winterkorn, once the most powerful car manager in the republic at Volkswagen, has recently become quiet.

The ailing 75-year-old manager is still waiting for a possible criminal trial, while former board members and top engineers from Volkswagen and Audi face the allegations of exhaust gas fraud in Braunschweig and Munich.

Marcus Young

Editor in Business.

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The name Winterkorn was very present for the public, but especially for the shareholders of VW, in early summer 2021.

At that time, the group, its former top executives and manager liability insurers in the diesel scandal agreed on a comparison: the former group boss Winterkorn paid 11.2 million euros in damages, other managers also participated in the compensation.

VW will receive 270 million euros from the D&O insurers - this is what the resolutions of the 2021 Annual General Meeting envisage.

This project is valid for the time being.

Because: On Wednesday, the district court in Hanover rejected an action for rescission or annulment brought by the Protection Association of Capital Investors (SdK), which was aimed at the failure of the comparison.

The investor protectors filed their lawsuit in August 2021 and argued that the exhaust gas fraud had not been finally determined and further financial risks for the automotive group could not be ruled out.

In particular, further sanctions by US authorities for the group and its former bodies are possible - "nevertheless, the claims for compensation should already be finally settled," according to the SdK's accusation before the regional court.

However, according to the 3rd chamber for commercial matters, the resolutions are neither void nor contestable.

The judges could not identify any formal errors in the decision-making process at the shareholders' meeting.

A “general content control or content abuse control” of resolutions does not take place in the context of an action for nullity and rescission, according to a statement by the regional court.

Gross disproportion to damage

The chamber did not see itself prevented from making a decision by the accusations of the plaintiffs that the role of Winterkorn and other managers had not been conclusively assessed under criminal law.

Likewise, the special audit enforced by the Celle Higher Regional Court by shareholders' protectors had no blocking effect.

The plaintiffs announced that they would appeal.

Oliver Wilken, lawyer for the SdK, told the Reuters news agency that one still sees an abuse of rights in view of the gross disproportion of only 15 million euros in damages for more than 32 billion euros in damage.

The legal question must be clarified by the highest court, so that in the event of an unsuccessful appeal to the Celle Higher Regional Court, the SdK would take the case to the Federal Court of Justice.

Should Martin Winterkorn still have to answer before a criminal court one day and there is a conviction, this should in turn be of interest to the D&O insurers.

For their part, they could contest the settlement and claim back a sum paid out from VW.