NY Man Files Volkswagen Emission Class Action Lawsuit

Volkswagen is facing allegations from regulators that the automaker has been using illegal software to cheat on U.S. emissions standards on certain vehicles.

The accusations, which involve about 482,000 of Volkswagen’s diesel-powered vehicles has triggered the filing of class action lawsuits. Volkswagen is now the largest automaker in the world.

One such Volkswagen class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Ari Levin. The New York resident owns a 2010 turbo-charged diesel Volkswagen Jetta.

Levin said when he heard the allegations that Volkswagen was using a so-called defeat device, he claims he felt misled by the car company. He said he bought the Jetta based on Volkswagen’s advertisements that this car was a “CleanDiesel” automobile.

According to Levin’s Volkswagen class action lawsuit, the car maker “intentionally installed into its software a defeat device so that when the vehicles were tested for emissions the vehicles showed that the emissions were proper. But in reality when those vehicles were driven, the emissions were nothing like what they were represented to be.”

Also, Levin alleges he bought the car with the belief the Jetta would have a good resale value, but now he does not want to keep his Volkswagen based on the recent charges against the company.

Volkswagen Litigation

Other Volkswagen emission class action lawsuits had been filed against the U.S. division of the German automaker. Plaintiff Micah Dorn of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit after discovering his Jetta’s TDI Clean Volkswagen diesel engine may not be as “clean” as he previously thought.

In Southern California, another Volkswagen diesel car class action lawsuit was filed against Volkswagen Group of America for allegedly committing “one of the most deliberate and blatant frauds to be perpetrated on the marketplace.”

In general, plaintiffs of these class action suits allege they would not have purchased the Volkswagen diesel engine cars if they had known about the illegal defeat device software.

Class Members also claim that their vehicles have also depreciated because of the emission scandal.

UPDATE: On June 28, 2016, Volkswagen reached proposed settlements with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission following the VW emissions scandal. VW’s deal with the DOJ includes up to $14.7 billion along with vehicle buyback provisions as well as funding for pollution control programs. In addition to the DOJ settlement, Volkswagen will also spend up to $10 billion in a buyback and lease termination settlement with the FTC that is expected to include about 475,000 vehicles.

UPDATE 2: The Volkswagen, Audi diesel emissions class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!