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US sues VW over emissions-cheating software in diesel cars Volkswagen slapped with federal lawsuit in emissions-cheating scandal
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sued Volkswagen on Monday over emissions-cheating software found in nearly 600,000 vehicles sold in the United States. The Obama administration stepped up its legal attack against Volkswagen on Monday, filing a lawsuit that accused the German automaker of violating U.S. air-pollution laws with its scheme to install emissions-cheating software in its diesel engines.
The civil complaint against the German automaker, filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges the company illegally installed software designed to make its diesel engines pass federal emissions standards while undergoing laboratory testing. The vehicles then switched off those measures to boost performance in real-world driving conditions, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions up to 40 times greater than federal environmental standards. The civil complaint filed by Justice Department officials in Detroit seeks unspecified damages stemming from the car company’s use of “defeat devices” on more than 600,000 diesel engines sold in the United States under the Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche brands.
“Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors,” said John C. Cruden, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors,” John C. Cruden, the attorney general for the department’s Environment and Natural Resources, said in a statement. “The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation’s clean air laws alleged in the complaint.”
“The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation’s clean air laws alleged in the complaint,” he said. The suit is the latest legal salvo against Volkswagen, which acknowledged in September that some of its light-duty diesel vehicles had been equipped with software that thwarted emissions-controls tests. The software allowed the engines to burn more cleanly when the vehicles’ computer detected that an emissions test was underway.
There was no immediate response to messages seeking comment Monday from Volkswagen’s U.S. headquarters. The lawsuit alleges that the defeat devices allowed Volkswagen models to emit far higher levels of nitrogen oxide than the law allows, violating the Clean Air Act and resulting in “harmful air pollution” in the United States.
The company first admitted in September that the cheating software was included in its diesel cars and SUVs sold since the 2009 model year. The company is negotiating a massive mandatory recall with U.S. regulators and potentially faces more than $18 billion in fines for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. [Town that built Volkswagens remains defiant.]
The company could also still face separate criminal charges, while a raft of private class-action lawsuits filed by angry VW owners are pending. The emissions scandal, which prompted the resignation of CEO Martin Winkerhorn last fall, was initially limited to 2.0-liter diesel engines. Subsequent investigations expanded the list of affected vehicles to more than 11 million worldwide, including a number of 3.0-engine models.
“With today’s filing, we take an important step to protect public health by seeking to hold Volkswagen accountable for any unlawful air pollution, setting us on a path to resolution,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “So far, recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward. These discussions will continue in parallel with the federal court action.” The Environmental Protection Agency, which filed the initial notice of violation against Volkswagen in September, said the additional action was warranted because the car company still had not responded adequately to fix the problem.
___ “So far, recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward,” said EPA assistant administrator Cynthia Gyles, of the agency’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance office. “These discussions will continue in parallel with the federal court action.”
Follow Michael Biesecker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mbieseck and find his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/michael-biesecker . There was no immediate response to the lawsuit from Volkswagen. Company officials have acknowledged that “misconduct” occurred, and have earmarked more than $7 billion for making repairs to affected automobiles.
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/etuckerAP and find his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/eric-tucker .
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