Fiat Chrysler Will Pay $884M To Settle Emissions Cheating Class Actions

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Fiat Chrysler will pay up to a total of $884 million to end allegations that the company installed software in some of its diesel vehicles that enabled the vehicles to perform at legal emissions standards during testing and then produce much more pollution than is legally allowed when the vehicles are driven normally.

Fiat Chrysler is not alone in being accused of defrauding emissions regulators — Volkswagen AG reportedly has paid close to $23 billion to resolve similar claims over alleged emissions defrauding.

For its part, Fiat Chrysler has agreed to settle its emissions cheating class action lawsuits with consumers, the federal government, state governments, and other entities.

Consumers claim that they were financially injured by the company because the vehicle they purchased did not perform as advertised, and argue that they would not have purchased the vehicles at all, or paid as much for them, if they had known that the vehicles’ emissions were not what was advertised.

To end consumer claims over the emissions allegations, Fiat Chrysler will pay consumers up to $280 million in emissions defrauding class action settlements.

State governments have hit the company with civil penalties, and a number of federal agencies have fined the company, including the U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The devices that allegedly enable the vehicles to defraud emissions regulators are made by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Bosch was not hit with fines from the federal government, but has not escaped fees for its involvement in the alleged defraud scandal. Robert Bosch GmbH settled their involvement with a payment of around $131 million on Thursday.

Both the federal government and the state of California have claimed that Fiat Chrysler violated the Clean Air Act by selling cars that do not meet emission standards.

For the Clean Air Act claims, the auto maker will pay $305 million in a civil payment. California will receive $42.7 million from the Clean Air Act claims and in combination with other claims against the company over this issue, will receive a total of $78.4 million.

According to the Department of Justice, the company failed to disclose that the emissions devices were present in a range of Fiat Chrysler vehicles when it applied for “certificates of conformity,” which is required by the Clean Air Act.

Allegedly, automakers are required to prove that the presence of devices that can reduce the effectiveness of emissions controls are not “defeat devices” or devices that can defraud emissions regulators, and the company reportedly failed to do this.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has claimed that Fiat Chrysler illegally imported 1,700 vehicles that do not comply with federal regulations, and has required that the company recall the vehicles in question and fix the emissions problem.

This fix reportedly comes in the form of a program that is estimated to cost Fiat Chrysler $185 million.

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The consumers are represented by lead counsel Elizabeth J. Cabraser, David. S. Stellings, Kevin R. Budner, Phong-Chau G. Nguyen, Katherine McBride and Wilson M. Dunlavey of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and steering committee members Roland K. Tellis of Baron & Budd PC, W. Daniel Miles III of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC, Lesley E. Weaver of Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP and Stacey P. Slaughter of Robins Kaplan LLP, among others.

The Fiat Chrysler Emissions Cheating Software Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 3:17-md-02777, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Jan. 23, 2019, a federal judge recently revealed that he’s “very much inclined” to grant preliminary approval to a $307 million Fiat Chrysler emissions settlement.

UPDATE 2: March 2019, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ram 1500 EcoDiesel class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.