U.S. Sues Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal--2nd Update
05 January 2016 - 8:25AM
Dow Jones News
By Aruna Viswanatha
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Volkswagen AG on Monday in
federal court seeking billions of dollars in penalties over its
alleged cheating on emissions tests, deepening woes for the
embattled German auto maker.
The new civil lawsuit largely repeats allegations environmental
regulators made against Volkswagen last year through administrative
filings, including that the car maker installed illegal devices
that circumvented emissions tests in 580,000 diesel-engine vehicles
sold in the U.S. But the lawsuit ramps up pressure on the company
as it puts the case before a federal judge and formally seeks
court-ordered penalties and other relief.
The lawsuit specifically seeks more than $32,000 in penalties
per vehicle, potentially adding up to more than $18 billion.
Volkswagen has held discussions with the Environmental
Protection Agency over how to fix the cars, but officials said
those talks haven't resulted in a deal, paving the way for the new
lawsuit. "Recall discussions with the company have not produced an
acceptable way forward, " EPA enforcement official Cynthia Giles
said.
"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," Ms.
Giles said.
Ms. Giles and Volkswagen said discussions would continue.
"Volkswagen will continue to work cooperatively with the EPA on
developing remedies to bring the...vehicles into full compliance
with regulations as soon as possible," the company said in a
statement.
The complaint, filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the
EPA, alleges that Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act by making
and selling vehicles that were designed differently from what
Volkswagen had stated in applications for certification to the EPA
and another regulator, the California Air Resources Board.
The new lawsuit covers vehicles with 2-liter engines, which were
the subject of the EPA's original September allegations, and
separate charges the agency levied in November covering additional
3-liter engines, including some Audi and Porsche diesel-powered
models.
The complaint accuses VW of obstructing the investigation into
the 3-liter engines.
"The United States' efforts to learn the truth about the
emission exceedances and other irregularities related to the 3.0L
Subject Vehicles, including whether VW had committed the violations
of federal law alleged herein, were impeded and obstructed by
material omissions and misleading information provided by VW
entities including at least Volkswagen AG and Audi AG," the lawsuit
says.
Criminal prosecutors are also investigating Volkswagen in
connection with the emissions scandal. The U.S. Attorney in
Detroit, Barbara McQuade, whose office is involved in the
investigation, said the complaint marks only the "first stage" of
the government's efforts.
Write to Aruna Viswanatha at Aruna.Viswanatha@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2016 16:10 ET (21:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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