U.S. Department of Justice Sues Volkswagen

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI engine (Credit: Volkswagen)

The new year is off to a rocky start for Volkswagen, which has officially been sued by the United States Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA. The official filing was made on January 4 in Detroit. Not only was Volkswagen named in the suit, but so was Porsche AG, Audi AG and Porsche Cars North America.

This latest development is serious, because under the Clean Air Act Volkswagen could be forced to pay somewhere around $18 billion to $75 billion. Even for VW, that would be a crippling penalty. If nothing else, this suit gives the United States government more leverage in getting Volkswagen to do what it wants in remedying the Dieselgate scandal.

Among the allegations in the suit is that VW sold almost 600,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. with emissions defeat devices the company knew about. That allowed the cars and SUVs to emit far more NOx and other pollutants than is legally allowed. By doing that, the Department of Justice says that not only was the public’s health harmed, its trust was violated and other automakers were put at a disadvantage.

If you thought that the U.S. government and Volkswagen were working together on a recall fix, this suit blows that out of the water. The EPA said that discussions with VW haven’t been productive, leaving a suit as the only way to move forward with a fix.

The Department of Justice is looking for the court system to force Volkswagen to correct the situation. That could mean installing equipment that brings TDI engine emissions within the legal limits. A judge could also order the automaker to buy back diesel-powered cars from owners.

According to a Bloomberg report, Volkswagen claims it’s being cooperative with all government agencies in the United States that have been conducting investigations. That includes setting aside funds for settlements, and stopping the sale of TDI models in the country.

This news comes after Volkswagen escaped any major penalties in Europe. The company is only required to issue a software patch for the TDI 2.0, instead of having to take on more expensive measures.