Volkswagen Hit with Class Action Over Emissions Deception

A potential Volkswagen class action lawsuit has been filed by two California residents over allegations that the car manufacturer sold vehicles based on false marketing claims.

The VW class action lawsuit was filed by Jorge Dell A’quila and Carrie Ullmer, who allege they both spent over $20,000 on their respective vehicles and had made their decisions based on the fuel efficiency claims of Volkswagen. 

Plaintiff Dell A’quila says he purchased a Volkswagen Golf TDI four door sedan in 2013. According to the Volkswagen lawsuit, Jorge made his decision based on the vehicle’s advertised fuel efficiency and because it claimed to have a clean diesel engine.

After reviewing similar advertisements, plaintiff Ullmer states she purchased a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta TDI in April 2014. The plaintiffs are filing legal action against the automotive company, in light of Volkswagen recently confessing that a number of their cars are not as economically sound as originally marketed.

Volkswagen Fuel Efficiency Allegations

A recent investigation conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), found that a number of Volkswagen diesel cars contained a certain software, which bypassed federal and state emissions testing. The EPA discovered that once the cars had passed the emissions tests, the vehicles had emitted up to 40x the maximum pollution levels allowed.

A Notice of Violation letter was sent to Volkswagen on Sept. 18, 2015 from the EPA, stating that the agency discovered that nearly 500,000 VW diesel cars contained the faulty software, which allowed the company to violate the Clean Air Act. However, Volkswagen recently admitted that this software installed in 11 million Volkswagen vehicles worldwide.

Each of the affected Volkswagen vehicles were equipped with an engine software system called a defeat device, which actually determined testing conditions for the car. Under these testing conditions, the diesel emissions were cut through several clean diesel techniques.

Once the cars were driven under normal circumstances, the emissions levels raised considerably. The technology deceived regulators into believing that the four-cylinder Volkswagen diesel cars complied with emissions standards. Overall the investigation revealed that certain diesel Volkswagen models were affected, including 2009 to 2015 Jetta, Golf, Beetle, Passat, and Audi A3 vehicles.

Volkswagen Emissions Lawsuit

The Volkswagen emissions scandal has led to numerous lawsuits, from angry customers who specifically bought their cars for low emissions testing.

The plaintiffs are included in this, stating they would not have purchased their vehicles if they had known the real emissions levels, or at least asked for a reduced price. These plaintiffs were wishing to buy environmentally friendly vehicles, and had also been under the impression that the cars were very fuel efficient.

After discovering this was not the case, Dell A’quila and Ullmer filed legal action and are alleging multiple counts of false advertising. The plaintiffs’ lawyers stated that Volkswagen had the civil responsibility of not only of being honest with their clients, but for all Volkswagen customers.

The Volkswagen Class Action Lawsuit is Jorge Dell A’quila & Carrie Ullmer v. Volkswagen Group of America Case No. 8:15-cv-01525, in the U.S. District Court of Central California, Southern Division.

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!