Supreme Court Delights Piech And Porsche

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

The NRA, the Pope, Porsche and Piech, all eyes were on the Supreme Court for the last few days: Gun owners watched the Chicago case (right to arm bears upheld.) Accountants and CPAs monitored the treatment of their favorite boondoggle, a.k.a. Sarbanes-Oxley (upheld.) Rome said “oh my God” when they heard that a lawsuit that accuses the Vatican of conspiring with U.S. church officials to cover up sex abuse could proceed. Meanwhile, Germany’s attention, from Zuffenhausen to Wolfsburg, was fixated on Morrison v. National Australia Bank, No. 08-1191. The Supreme Court seriously frustrated attemps by overseas investors who want to drag non-American companies into American courts. Champagne corks popped at Volkswagen and Porsche. The Guardian: “America’s supreme court has told prospective European claimants to take their claims back to Europe.” So what does that have to do with Porsche?

For all practical intents and purposes, the Anschluss of Porsche with Volkswagen has already been consummated. Volkswagen is putting its boys into Porsche. Piech is already leaking his supposedly most secret product plans. Volkswagen is moving at light speed with people and products, but they are dragging their heels when it comes to finishing the “Integrierter Automobilkonzern” – the final, formal, official subjugation of Porsche. Maybe next year. Maybe later. And why’s that?

Damn lawyers. A group of hedge funds brought suit against Porsche. If they win, it could cost Porsche up to €9b. According to a prospectus for a money raise by Volkswagen, a win in U.S. courts “could even lead to the insolvency of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.” You don’t want to own something that might be liable for more than 10 billion dollars.

With the Supreme Court decision that reversed 40 year old case law, the plaintiffs “will have a much harder time to pursue their case in the U.S.A.,” says Das Manager Managzin. The case of Hedgies v. Porsche rests on the same paragraphs and case law that was just annihilated by the High Court.

Says the magazine: “The plaintiffs could now base their case on state law instead of federal law. If that doesn’t work out, they would have to bring their case to a German court. The legal hurdles are much higher in Germany than in the U.S.A.” Not only that. The awards are much, much lower in Germany. Bringing a civil suit is risky in Germany: Loser pays all court and legal costs. The higher the damages claimed, the higher the costs. Let’s put it this way: You don’t want to sue Porsche in Stuttgart unless you have a watertight case. And even then, the judge will most likely wag his finger at you and recommend that you settle.

Manager Magazin’s bottom line: “Piech & Co breathe a sigh of relief.” The U.S. Supreme Court did its share for the advancement of an “Integrierter Automobilkonzern.”

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Ott Ott on Jun 29, 2010

    "Gun owners watched the Chicago case (right to arm bears upheld.)" -Oh, Great. Now I gotta watch out for armed bears.

    • Geeber Geeber on Jun 29, 2010

      Yogi and Boo Boo won't have to beg for a snack from the pick-a-nick basket anymore. They'll just whip out the .357 Magnum and tell the tourists to hand it over. And if that pesky Ranger Smith gives them any trouble about it...

  • Herb Herb on Jun 29, 2010

    Poor hedge funds. Such a pity.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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