U.S. Government Focuses on Need for Deterrence and Oliver Schmidt's Obstruction of Justice Oliver Schmidt, a former senior manager in Volkswagen's U.S. Engineering and Environmental Office, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6 in federal court in Michigan. In a sentencing brief, the government, in asking for a sentence of seven years, points [...]
Audi Allegedly Used Emissions Defeat Device in 3.0 Liter Gas Engine Cars With Automatic Transmissions Class action lawsuits have been filed against Audi AG and Audi of America LLC alleging the companies used an illegal CO2 emissions defeat device in certain vehicles equipped with a ZF 8HP55 "AL 551" transmission, including, but not limited to, [...]
Volkswagen Virginia Emissions Cases Set for Jury Trial On February 10, 2017, the Fairfax Circuit Court set five Volkswagen emissions fraud cases for trial, in what are likely to be the first such cases in the country to be presented to a jury. The first trial is scheduled for three weeks beginning on September [...]
Volkswagen AG to Enter Guilty Plea to Federal Crimes On February 24, 2017, Volkswagen AG, the parent company of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., is expected to enter a guilty plea to federal felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and criminal import violations, arising out of a decade-long global conspiracy to defraud consumers [...]
Fairfax Circuit Court Appoints Webster Book LLP as Lead Counsel in Virginia Volkswagen Cases On October 6, 2016, Fairfax Circuit Court Chief Judge Bruce White appointed Webster Book LLP as Lead Counsel for all plaintiffs in Virginia Volkswagen cases. A three judge panel had previously transferred all Virginia cases to the Fairfax Court for [...]
Volkswagen Engineer Admits to a 10 Year Conspiracy to Defraud Consumers On September 9, 2016, James Robert Liang, a Volkswagen engineer, pleaded guilty for his role in a nearly 10-year conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and U.S. Volkswagen customers by implementing software specifically designed to cheat U.S. emissions tests in hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen [...]
Fraudulent Concealment and Virginia Consumer Protection Act Claims Against Volkswagen Move Forward On August 30, 2016, Fairfax Circuit Court Chief Judge Bruce White issued a decision allowing Virginia Volkswagen claims arising from the unlawful use of an emissions defeat device to move forward. Specifically, the Court approved claims of fraudulent concealment and violations of [...]
Federal Court Preliminarily Approves Class Action Settlement for Volkswagen Vehicles Containing Emissions Control Defeat Devices On July 26, 2016, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California preliminarily approved a proposed class action settlement for owners of certain Volkswagen 2.0 liter diesel light-duty vehicles for model years 2009 through 2015. At the same time, a number [...]