GJN Volkswagen – Update re: US Settlement

A proposed US VW settlement of up to $10,033,000,000.00 (over 9 billion Euro) was filed on 28. June 2016 in the MDL Court. This would make the Volkswagen settlement the largest consumer automobile class action settlement ever reached in the USA.

The settlement applies only to US VW and Audi 2.0-liter diesel auto owners or lessees, not to car owners in other countries.

The settlement has not yet been approved by the Court but once it is approved, it will apply automatically to all members of the US class except for those who reject the settlement and “opt out”.

Car owners may choose one of two options:

• Having their cars bought back by the manufacturer at its value before the scandal was made known in September 2015 plus receiving “substantial” compensation, or

• Having their cars “fixed”, assuming a fix is later approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resource Board (CARB), plus receiving between $5100.00 and $10,000.00 in compensation, depending on the car’s model and age.

As part of the deal, attorneys’ fees will be paid by VW in addition to this.

The environment in the USA will also benefit as part of the settlement package because VW will:

• Pay an additional $2.7 billion into a fund to clean up the environmental damage it caused, and

• Commit another $2.0 billion to promote Zero Emissions Vehicle technology.

Volkswagen has also reached companion settlement agreements with the Federal Trade Commission as well as over 40 State Attorneys General.

Additional information about the US settlement can be found on the Court’s website: http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb/vwmdl.

On 26. July 2016, there will be a hearing in San Francisco to address whether the settlement proposal should be preliminarily approved by the Court. If the Court gives the green light on July 26, it will kick off a review and approval process.

Global Justice Network attorneys are committed to obtaining a fair settlement for affected diesel car owners everywhere, not just those who bought their cars in the USA!