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Johnson Law Group and the Ford Dieselgate claimants have secured a significant High Court victory in the ongoing Dieselgate Nox emissions litigation, successfully obtaining permission to amend their case against Ford to bring claims for a SOx defect which allegedly affected certain diesel vehicles.
In Davies and Ors. v Ford Motor Company and Ors. [2026] EWHC 1531 (KB), High Court Judge Mr Justice Bright gave permission for claimants to amend their case, with the Court criticising Ford’s attempt to increase “delay, complexity and expense” in order to “deter individual litigants from pursuing what may be valid claims”.
The claims
The permitted amendments concerned a ‘Lean NOx Trap’ – a component in some Ford vehicles which was designed to reduce harmful NOx emissions but over time adsorbed* sulphur oxides (SOx), which stopped it functioning adequately and resulted in the vehicles emitting higher levels of pollution.
On Board Diagnostics systems in the Ford vehicles failed to identify the malfunction and while various updates were installed in response to the issue, the vehicles behaved differently than consumers and regulators had been led to believe.
The claimants say that Ford has breached various duties as a result of its failures and misleading actions, for which the claimants are due compensation.
The Application
Ford attempted to block the application arguing that the claims were brought too late and that the Court should use its discretion to refuse permission for the amendments, and the claimants should commence a new, separate litigation if they wanted to make such a claim against Ford.
The High Court rejected this argument, with Mr Justice Bright stating: … “…it is obvious, that Ford’s main interest in arguing for additional procedural delay, complexity and expense is the possibility that this would lead to some individual Claimants losing heart and deciding not to bring fresh claims.”
The Claimants successfully argued they should be allowed to amend their case to include the additional SOx-related claims, with those claims deemed as having been brought when the application was filed on 10 April2026.
Ford Trial
The High Court’s ruling means that the Claimants’ SOx claims will ultimately go onto a trial where Ford will have to defend its actions regarding the SOx Defect. This adds to the issues already facing Ford regarding its diesel vehicles, as the parties are currently awaiting judgment on Ford’s liability in the existing and on-going Dieselgate emissions litigation (in which Ford has been quizzed about the SOx claims) as Ford is preparing for a trial establishing the scale of potential damages owed by the multi-national corporation, in Autumn 2026.
Michael Burke, a partner at Johnson Law Group said:
“We are pleased the court has permitted our application and that these claims should be heard as part of the on-going Ford NOx Emissions Litigation.
Forcing consumers to embark on new and costly litigation in the hope that they wouldn’t bring these claims is another sign that vehicle manufacturers will stop at nothing to hide their wrong-doing from the public. We are determined that this does not happen.
This decision paves the way for all of those Ford claimants, including those represented by JLG, to hold Ford fully accountable for their actions.
The NOx emissions these vehicles emit because of DeSOx Defect is abhorrent and manufacturers need to be held to account for allowing this to happen.”
* To adsorb means for atoms, ions, or molecules of a gas or liquid to adhere (stick) to the outer or internal surface of a solid or liquid material, forming a very thin layer
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