The owner of a Volkswagen car has sued the VW dealership he bought it from as a result of the emissions’ scandal the car marker has been embroiled in since September.

The German owner is demanded the dealer cancel the sales contract and take back his Tiguan diesel. The car is one of the models affected by the emissions’ scandal.

A lawyer for the Tiguan’s owner, a history professor, said his client's car would be impossible to resell given the scandal and the 12,241 miles it had on the clock, Reuters reports today. 

"This shows that the breach (of duty by the dealer) is material," Dietrich Messeler told the district court of Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia, in what is believed to be the first case of a private owner suing for compensation over the scandal in Germany.

Judge Ingo Streek said the owner could still drive his car, even though his conscience may be troubled by its impact on the environment.

"I come to the conclusion that the breach of duty is not so material that it must lead to a return," he said.

The owner and the dealership will now try to settle the case.

If they do not succeed, Streek will rule on March 16.

Messeler said that if his client lost the case, he would appeal it.