Class Action Claims Volkswagen Emissions Fix Leaves Cars Inoperable

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Embattled Volkswagen Group of America Inc. is facing yet another proposed class action lawsuit, this time over the car manufacturer’s execution of the terms of a previous settlement involving its vehicles’ emissions systems. According to the lawsuit, the defendant’s fix for certain vehicles’ reportedly defective emissions systems has rendered the cars inoperable and has cheated owners out of the value of their vehicles.

The two plaintiffs, a couple from South Dakota, say they received notice in the mail in late December 2016 informing them that their two Volkswagen Passats – model years 2012 and 2013 – were eligible for the defendant’s 2.0-Liter Settlement Claims Program. The settlement offered two options for each car, the suit explains, with consumers having to choose either:

• an “Emissions Modification Offer” that would pay for alterations to the vehicle’s emissions system at an authorized Volkswagen dealer; or
• a buyback option that would allow the plaintiffs to return the vehicle in exchange for its value in cash.

The plaintiffs chose the modification offer for both vehicles and brought them in for repairs, the suit says. According to the lawsuit, however, the cars have been “in the custody of an authorized Volkswagen mechanic for months” because the vehicles would no longer start after the emissions modifications were made. The plaintiffs claim they attempted to trade in one of the vehicles but were told that the value of the car was $0 “because it has to be fixed first.”

The lawsuit, recently removed from state to federal court in South Dakota, aims to require Volkswagen to perform fully the terms of its Emissions Modification Offer or otherwise compensate the plaintiffs and proposed class members for damages.