Court Orders Additional Hearing in 'BMW Serial Fire' Class Action... First Trial Verdict Delayed
Arguments to Resume on July 23
The verdict in the first trial regarding the 'BMW Vehicle Serial Fire Incident' that occurred in 2018, in which consumers filed a damages lawsuit against the company, has been postponed.
According to the legal community on July 2, the Civil Agreement Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Nam Insu) postponed the sentencing hearing that was scheduled for this morning and decided to resume arguments at 11 a.m. on the 23rd.
The resumption of arguments appears to be due to a supplementary brief submitted to the court by the defendant, BMW, on June 19. Haon Law Firm, representing the plaintiffs, explained, "It is highly likely that the supplementary brief submitted by the defendant included issues that the court determined should be further examined through additional arguments."
The plaintiffs participating in the lawsuit are 849 owners of vehicles that showed signs of fire or were subject to recall. It is known that they experienced issues such as inability to operate the accelerator pedal, smoke inside the hood, illumination of the engine warning light, and coolant leakage. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in October 2018, claiming they suffered psychological and financial damages due to being exposed to pre-fire risks stemming from defects in BMW vehicles imported and sold by the company.
At that time, after a series of fires involving BMW vehicles, the government formed a joint public-private investigation team to conduct an inquiry. According to the results, the cause of the fires was found to be a design defect in the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system within the vehicles.
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Separately from the civil lawsuit, BMW Korea and four executives and employees are undergoing a criminal trial on charges of concealing the vehicle defects despite being aware of them.
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