Volkswagen Scandal Class Action Lawsuit Filed in California

The wave of lawsuits over the Volkswagen scandal has begun, with two plaintiffs from California initiating a federal Volkswagen class action lawsuit.

In September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of equipping its diesel cars with software that automatically reduces vehicle emissions when the car is undergoing official emissions testing.

Under normal driving conditions, this so-called Volkswagen defeat device allegedly allows vehicle emissions to increase to as much as 40 times what is allowed under the Clean Air Act.

Simultaneous with that announcement, the Obama administration issued a recall of almost 500,000 potentially affected vehicles. Models subject to the recall include four-cylinder diesel cars made by Volkswagen and Audi from model years 2009 to 2015. The EPA also noted it might seek fines of up to $37,500 for each violation, which could result in a total penalty of up to $18 billion.

Overview of California VW Emissions Lawsuit

Now, on the civil side, plaintiffs Romeo A. and Helen K. are bringing a Volkswagen class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers and renters of vehicles equipped with this defeat device. They are also proposing a separate subclass to consist of those consumers who live in California, on whose behalf the plaintiffs plan to pursue certain causes of action under California state law.

According to the Volkswagen lawsuit, the federal Clean Air Act prohibits the sale of cars in the U.S. that don’t meet the EPA’s emission limitations. At the state level, the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, has enacted its own set of standards, which many other states also follow.

Volkswagen’s use of the defeat device was revealed after testing by the International Council on Clean Transportation showed a discrepancy between emissions control during normal emission testing and during actual driving.

Further testing with the help of the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions at West Virginia University revealed that normal use of the diesel Volkswagen Jetta produced nitrogen oxide emissions at 15 to 35 times the level allowed by U.S. standards, and the diesel Passat exceeded those standards by 5 to 20 times.

The director of the center commented that a discrepancy that large between normal testing and real-world use indicates that certain software strategies are being employed.

The EPA and CARB then began to investigate. Further testing by CARB continued to show significant discrepancies in test results, and CARB reported those findings to the EPA in July 2015.

When both agencies confronted the manufacturer to explain the results, Volkswagen admitted the engines used a software algorithm purposely designed to detect when the car was being tested for emissions and to reduce the emissions during the test.

On behalf of the proposed “national class,” plaintiffs plan to bring a claim of violation of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Among other protections, this law gives consumes a right to sue a manufacturer or retailer who fails to comply with either a written or implied warranty.

For the California class, the plaintiffs are making claims based on theories of fraud, breach of warranty, breach of contract, and violation of several California consumer protection statutes.

This Volkswagen Class Action Lawsuit is Romeo Alba et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-04492 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern 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!