Porsche Plaintiffs Seek $5 Billion With Limited Tools

Plaintiffs seeking more than 4 billion euros ($5 billion) in damages from Porsche SE may find it difficult to make their case in a German court system that offers them only a limited view of the company’s inner workings.

Five cases claiming the 911 sports-car maker manipulated stock prices in its failed bid to take over Volkswagen AG are pending at a Braunschweig court, with the first hearings to be held tomorrow. While the plaintiffs have the full burden of proving wrongdoing, they have few tools, according to Thomas Moellers, civil law professor at Augsburg University.