Volkswagen knew it was coming ... and that it was just a matter of time.
Well, that time has arrived.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that lawyers have filed proposed class-action lawsuits against the embattled automaker in a United States District Court over its emissions scandal.
The focal point of the civil lawsuits, which were filed on behalf of 500,000-plus U.S. car owners and dealers, is the allegation that VW knowingly compromised its diesel vehicles to pass emissions tests, participating in fraud by marketing those models in the country. The complaints further allege that VW and its owned Audi and Porsche brands violated federal regulations against racketeering.
The company had to feel this on the way, considering U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer announced a committee of 22 platintiffs' lawyers to lead the legal process. Altogether, the lawyers in the committee will have plenty of ammunition to choose from, as they're free to reference accusations in the 500,000-plus lawsuits already filed across the country.
"This case arises out of one of the most brazen corporate crimes in history, a cautionary tale about winning at any cost," the plaintiffs wrote in documents filed Monday, as reported by the Journal. "Volkswagen cheated its way to the top of the automotive food chain and spared no victim along the way."
So, how much could this possibly cost VW?
Well, the Journal points to U.S. regulatory fines — separate from the class-action lawsuits' damages — revving up to $46 billion in the country alone. This kind of punishment — which doesn't include the recall costs the automaker must incur — was to be expected, with reports that VW diesel models had emissions as much as 40 times the legal regulations in the U.S.
The scary part about these class-action lawsuits are they're just the tip of the iceberg for how bad it could get for VW, as it still must incur costs of recalls and any levying regulatory fines handed out by countries affected.
Although VW's recall to fix 8.5 million vehicles in Europe is already underway, the company has yet to reach an agreement to recall nearly 600,000 compromised vehicles in the U.S., as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) rejected the automaker's proposal last month.
