State of Texas follows W Virginia sues fraudulent Volkswagen for gazillions

When writing this headline, I wasn’t sure how one illustrates the sheer scale of what the State of Texas is demanding from the global motor manufacturing fraudster Volkswagen. So settled on “gazillions”. Because Texas wants fines of up to $25 000 per day for each of 32 000 altered VW and Audi diesel vehicles sold in the State. That’s a potential liability of $800m a day. $24bn a month. Eisch. This week’s admission that Volkswagen’s US chief executive knew all about the planned deception some 18 months ago, will not help the German company’s case. Neither will evidence that actual emissions were reportedly up to 40 times the “doctored” results that were within the regulated level. Some contrarians think it’s time to buy the bombed out Volkswagen shares. A smarter move, for now anyway, is to stay on the sidelines. As other States follow Texas and West Virginia and more car owners join the 250 class action suits already launched in the US, Volkswagen’s very survival is at threatened. – Alec Hogg

By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Brubaker Calkins

(Bloomberg) — Texas joined the Volkswagen AG litigation bandwagon Thursday, accusing the company’s U.S. unit of violating state consumer protection laws and clean air standards by using rigged software in some of it diesel vehicles.

The state’s claims, in two lawsuits by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in state court in Austin, follow similar actions brought by West Virginia on Friday and a separate case by the county that encompasses Houston.

Michael Horn, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, speaks during the 2016 Volkswagen Passat reveal in the Brooklyn borough of New York September 21, 2015. Volkswagen U.S. head on Monday said he was confident the German automaker would restore customer confidence after it "totally screwed up" by rigging emissions tests of diesel-powered vehicles in the United States. Michael Horn vowed to make amends at a lavish event in New York to promote the 2016 Passat where the carmaker doled out German beer, pretzels and "cheddary ale fondue" to dealers and the media, before a performance of rockstar Lenny Kravitz. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz
Michael Horn, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, speaks during the 2016 Volkswagen Passat reveal in the Brooklyn borough of New York September 21, 2015. Volkswagen U.S. head on Monday said he was confident the German automaker would restore customer confidence after it “totally screwed up” by rigging emissions tests of diesel-powered vehicles in the United States. Michael Horn vowed to make amends at a lavish event in New York to promote the 2016 Passat where the carmaker doled out German beer, pretzels and “cheddary ale fondue” to dealers and the media, before a performance of rockstar Lenny Kravitz. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz

The lawsuits are part of the widening fallout from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Sept. 18 announcement that Volkswagen installed deceptive software to make vehicles appear as if they met emissions standards. The company has admitted that 11 million of its vehicles worldwide were affected, including almost a half million in the U.S.

Read also: Lawyers predict fee bonanza from owners demanding VW buys back their cars

Investigations are being conducted by prosecutors and other agencies in the U.S. and Germany, among other countries. Authorities raided Volkswagen facilities and some employees’ homes in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Thursday. Later, in the first congressional hearing in Washington, the automaker’s top U.S. executive denied accusations that the doctored software was the result of a corporate decision.

The attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia are conducting a joint investigation into allegations of violations of consumer-protection and environmental laws.

The number of lawsuits filed by VW and Audi car owners is increasing daily. More than 250 lawsuits have been filed as consumer class actions in U.S. federal courts in at least 38 states, claiming fraud. The lawsuits seek returns of premiums paid for vehicles with the clean-diesel feature and lost value of the vehicles. If fixing the cars so they comply with emissions standards hurts performance, the car owners want a full refund of the purchase price, minus depreciation.

Consumers Misled

“For years, Volkswagen intentionally mislead consumers,” Paxton said in a statement. Volkswagen’s clean-diesel cars “meet emissions standards only in the laboratory or testing stations, but during normal operation, the cars emit nitrogen oxides, or NOx, at up to 40 times the allowable standard,” he said in court papers.

Jeannine Ginivan, a Volkswagen spokeswoman, declined to comment on the Texas cases.

Texas is seeking pollution fines ranging from $50 to $25,000 per vehicle per day for 32,000 altered VWs and Audis registered in the state, according to the complaints. Cynthia Meyer, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General’s office, declined to speculate what total penalties a jury might award.

Read also: Criminal case opened against former VW CEO in pollution scandal

VW and Audi have about 49 authorized car dealerships in Texas, including three in Travis County, where the lawsuits were filed. Beginning with the 2009 model year, the “clean diesel” vehicles at issue were marketed as low emission, high efficiency and high performance. The cars can only achieve the latter two claims by sacrificing the first, Paxton said in the statement.

The deceptive-practices case is State of Texas v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., D-1-GN-15-004504, 201st Judicial District of Travis County (Austin) and the environmental case is State of Texas v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., D-1-GN-15-004513, 200th Judicial District of Travis County (Austin).

Visited 48 times, 1 visit(s) today