Experts: Toyota, GM settlements are a window to Volkswagen case

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and fines over unintended acceleration in Toyotas and faulty ignition switches in General Motors’ vehicles provide a glimpse of what consumers and the government might get from Volkswagen for cheating on diesel emissions, legal scholars say.

But the Volkswagen case comes with a wild card that could significantly drive up damages: the company’s admission in September that it intentionally defeated emissions tests and put dirty vehicles on the road.

“It was fraudulent deception, and that makes the case susceptible to a very substantial punitive damage award,” said Robert Rabin, a professor at Stanford Law School and expert in product defect cases.

A more-immediate concern for Volkswagen may be how to bring nearly 600,000 diesel cars polluting U.S. roads into compliance with emissions standards. A federal judge last month gave the company until Thursday to report back on whether it has come up with an engineering fix.

But even with a fix, the company still faces lawsuits by angry Volkswagen owners and the Department of Justice. The owners were duped into buying the vehicles with promises that they were high-performing and fuel efficient yet still environmentally friendly, attorneys for hundreds of owners said in a consolidated complaint filed in February.