Supreme Court rejects VW appeals over emissions tampering

(Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected Volkswagen AG’s bid to avoid lawsuits filed by officials in three states seeking damages stemming from the German automaker’s diesel emissions cheating scandal.

The justices refused to hear appeals by VW and German auto supplier Robert Bosch LLC of a lower court ruling allowing Florida’s Hillsborough County and Utah’s Salt Lake County to seek to hold the companies liable under local laws and regulations barring tampering with vehicle emissions controls. The court also rejected VW’s appeal of a similar ruling in a case brought by the state of Ohio.

Volkswagen subsidiary Volkswagen Group of America Inc. has argued that under the Clean Air Act, the landmark U.S. environmental law, only the federal government can pursue such claims. VW noted that it already has reached a settlement of more than $20 billion with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The lawsuits accused VW of deceiving the EPA — and in doing so also violating the local laws.

The Biden administration, asked by the court to weigh in on the dispute, urged the justices not to hear the case, saying the Clean Air Act allows for enforcement of state laws.

In 2015, Volkswagen disclosed that it had used sophisticated software to evade nitrogen oxide emissions requirements in nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide. It also misled the EPA, which had started asking questions in 2014.

This website states: The content on this site is sourced from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us and we will handle it promptly.