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VW Is Talking About Settlement Deals With U.S. States That Sued It

Volkswagen has begun settlement talks with multiple U.S. states that have sued the corporation over the violation of environmental laws.
2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI 7 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
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The Volkswagen Group has had its legal representatives initiate a dialogue with their equivalents that represent states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York.

Volkswagen’s representatives have explained in court that the talks regarding a settlement will begin no later than November 1, 2016, because up to 14 other states might want to be involved in the situation.

One of Volkswagen’s spokespersons for the USA has announced that the automaker is seeking an agreement that will bring a “constructive route” that will resolve any remaining environmental claims, Automotive News reports.

The agreement has the purpose of transferring state lawsuits into a federal court, where a federal judge will handle them, just like the owner filed lawsuits regarding the Dieselgate situation.

Volkswagen’s recent legal troubles come after the automaker has settled with U.S. authorities regarding its cheating scheme, which can make the cost of the entire situation rise to even higher levels.

Through the settlement talks, Volkswagen is attempting to mitigate the expenses of the settlement, as the company could end up paying more to individual states if it were to battle each in its state courts.

At this point, without the settlement talks described above, the Dieselgate settlement already signed by Volkswagen will cost the German corporation up to $15.3 billion. It has pledged to fix the affected vehicles, pay damages to their owners, and to offer to buy them back, depending on the situation.

This part of Volkswagen’s Dieselgate only targets the 2.0-liter diesel engines built by the German company. There are also owners of 3.0-liter TDI-engined vehicles sold by the Volkswagen Group in the USA with a “defeat device.”

In the situation of the secondary group of clients, they are upset because the automaker has yet to submit a fix proposition that has been approved by American authorities. There is also no plan to provide the option of buy-back for the affected cars.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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