Renault will finally not have to communicate certain documents requested by customers who are victims of defective engines, according to four orders issued this Thursday, January 18, by the Court of Appeal of Versailles.
File documents “neither relevant nor useful.”
Thousands of owners of Renault, Dacia or Nissan vehicles, equipped with a Renault engine and victims of excessive oil consumption and breakdowns, accuse the manufacturer of having been aware of these problems “from the beginning.”
In March 2023, they had access to numerous internal documents regarding the production of these engines in a summary procedure.
The manufacturer sent documents, but appealed part of them and the Versailles Court of Appeal ruled in its favor on Thursday, considering that the documents in question were “neither relevant nor useful.”
These six types of requested parts do not exist or refer to requests that are too broad, including factories that only install these engines in cars.
Clients were ordered to pay attorney fees and the appeal procedure.
Renault underlines in a press release that the decisions issued on Thursday “completely reject the request for communication of additional documents” presented by the complainants.
The Court recalls, however, that the elements provided by the clients demonstrate “the existence of a legitimate reason” to request these documents. Which allows the clients’ lawyer, Christophe Léguevaques, to also speak of victory.
“The strategy of judicial obstruction implemented by Renault does not work; the justice system is not impressed and that is fortunate,” the lawyer stressed in a statement through his lawyer’s collective action platform, MyLeo (also committed against chlordecone in the Antilles or in the case of Levothyrox).
In particular, customers must have access to vehicle approval files, internal audits and exchanges with the French authorities.
A collective action that brings together 2,600 plaintiffs
The cars equipped with Essence 1.2 TCe engines, manufactured by Renault between October 2012 and June 2016, generally have a fuel consumption that increases the entertainment and pollution hazards, and allows the engine cases to be driven between 65,000 and 125,000 kilometres, selon customers.
Following an alert launched by the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir in 2019, thousands of owners united to call their action “Motorgate”, in reference to the “Dieselgate” scandal of manipulated Volkswagen engines.
The action currently brings together 2,600 motorists, according to Me Léguevaques.
On June 5, 2023, a complaint was filed against Renault for deception and endangering the lives of others, but the plaintiffs remain “open to discussion” whether Renault intended to “show (finally) consideration towards its customers,” according to the lawyer.
Renault has confirmed this excess oil consumption in a small proportion of models.
“We did it on a case-by-case basis,” a brand spokesperson stressed in January 2022, specifying that “if customers were scrupulous in maintenance,” the support was “total.”
Source: BFM TV
