CalSTRS Subpoenas Volkswagen for Documents Related to Emissions Cheating

CalSTRS this week served a subpoena on Volkswagen as part of the pension fund’s lawsuit against the German carmaker.

CalSTRS, which owned over $50 million of Volkswagen stock at the end of 2015, is suing the car company for shareholder losses related to the emissions scandal.

From the Financial Times:

CalSTRS, which held $52m of VW stock as of December 31, 2015, said it is looking for internal documents at Volkswagen to clarify how the carmaker came up withemissions control technology that cheated official tests.

It also seeks documents that would show how the company responded to a May 2014 study that first proved emissions were far higher than standards permitted, as well as follow-up investigations by US regulators.

“It is expected that these documents will help answer the central questions raised in the German proceedings,” CalSTRS said.

“The US Code permits discovery in support of foreign proceedings, while German law does not provide for such pre-trial discovery.”

The US Court issued an order on July 21, CalSTRS said. On Wednesday, the pension fund’s lawyers then served a subpoena to VW of America, “demanding that they deliver up the documents requested.”