On October 6, 2015, Minami Tamaki LLP and a prominent East Bay plaintiffs firm filed a class action case on behalf of 21 owners of Volkswagen and Audi “clean diesel” vehicles in California, Pennsylvania and Maryland against the automakers for violating federal and state law by installing illegal “defeat devices” in their vehicles.

These “defeat devices” allowed Volkswagen to cheat federal and air emissions standards by turning on commission controls during testing. However, during normal operation these vehicles emitted pollutants at 10 to 40 times the standard allowed under United States and California law.

Investigations by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board have found that Volkswagen secretly installed “defeat devices” in nearly 500,000 vehicles in the United States and 11 million vehicles worldwide. Vehicles equipped with these “defeat devices” include 2009-2015 Volkswagen Golf, Passat, Jetta, and Beetle, as well as the 2009-2015 Audi A3.

In testimony before Congress, the CEO of Volkswagen USA testified that Volkswagen senior executives were aware of possible noncompliance with federal and California emissions standards since the spring of 2014.

“This is an outrageous fraud,” said Minami Tamaki Partner Jack W. Lee. “Volkswagen deceived the most ecologically conscious consumers into becoming unwitting pawns in generating more pollution. To date, Volkswagen still has not been able to set forth a fix that would provide consumers with the vehicle they were promised.”

Minami Tamaki encourages individuals who purchased a 2009-2015 “clean diesel” Volkswagen or Audi vehicle to contact us toll-free at 888-823-8278 to discuss your experiences and to allow us to review your potential claim. Minami Tamaki represents VW and Audi owners nationwide and has decades of experience successfully prosecuting complex class action cases on behalf of consumers.