Calif. Volkswagen Emissions Lawsuit Seeks Class Certification

Class action lawsuits against Volkswagen have been piling up around the country. Now a lawsuit filed in California federal court is the first to petition for class certification and consolidation over the emissions testing scandal that has engulfed the German automaker.

Volkswagen has admitted that it intentionally installed software programmed to switch engines to a cleaner mode during emissions testing. After testing, the software would switch off, enabling cars to maintain higher fuel efficiency but also allowing them to emit as much as 40 times the legal pollution limit.

Lead plaintiff Christopher D. seeks court certification as a class action on behalf two classes of Volkswagen drivers:  those who purchased or leased one or more diesel VWs at an authorized dealer and those who did not, according to the Volkswagen emissions lawsuit.

Nearly 500,000 U.S. vehicles and 11 million cars worldwide could be affected, according to federal regulators. It has been reported that 77,000 of those VW diesel cars were sold in California.

Additionally, the Volkswagen emissions lawsuit alleges the class claims do not differ in that they similarly allege VW secretly equipped their clean engine diesel vehicle with a device that defeated emissions testing by federal and state regulators.

The lawsuits further allege Volkswagen defrauded consumers when it marketed and sold these “clean diesel” vehicles.

About the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

Christopher’s lawsuit, like many others, follows on the heels of an investigation by federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CARB). CARB and the EPA were first alerted to the Volkswagen emissions problems with these vehicles as the result of a study published by West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions.

When CARB and the EPA began to investigate the issue in May 2014, Volkswagen told the agencies that the increased emissions were the result of technical issues or unexpected conditions.

Although Volkswagen issued a voluntary recall in 2014, testing performed by CARB showed only a limited benefit. As a result, CARB and the EPA decided not to approve VW’s 2016 diesel vehicles for certification until it explained the emissions.

According to the EPA, “[o]nly then did VW admit it had designed and installed a defeat device in these vehicles in the form of a sophisticated software algorithm that detected when a vehicle was undergoing emissions testing.”

According to the EPA, Volkswagen installed its deceptive software, called a “defeat device,” in at least the following diesel models of its vehicles:

• Jetta (model years 2009 – 2015)
• Beetle (model years 2009 – 2015)
• Audi A3 (model years 2009 – 2015)
• Golf (model years 2009 – 2015)
• Passat (model years 2014 – 2015)

From reference to Volkswagen’s MSRP on its website, vehicle owners who purchased Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles paid anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000 more for vehicles with the diesel engines, as opposed to the same models with standard gas engines.

The Volkswagen Emissions Class Action Lawsuit is Christopher D. v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc. et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-07390, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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!