Law firm Susman Godfrey has expanded its nationwide class-action lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America, which has stemmed from the recent diesel emissions scandal, to include plaintiffs in 18 states.
The states included in the VW class action so far are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Originally filed on September 24 in California, the suit claims Volkswagen secretly used software designed to cheat emissions tests and falsely advertised its vehicles as environmentally friendly.
Due to those actions, consumers were allegedly deceived into purchasing what they believed were eco-conscious “CleanDiesel” vehicles that actually emit up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide.
“We are pleased to expand this lawsuit, as we know hundreds of thousands of people across the country have been affected by Volkswagen’s deceptive actions,” said Steven Sklaver, a Susman Godfrey attorney on the Volkswagen case. “We look forward to helping compensate these consumers for their losses.”
Buyers of the 2009 to 2015 Jetta and Jetta SportWagen models, 2010 to 2015 Audi A3 and Golf models, 2012 to 2015 Beetle, Beetle Convertible and Passat models, and the 2015 Golf SportWagen model are alleged to have paid a significant premium for so-called “CleanDiesel” vehicles. It now appears these consumers actually received vehicles that cannot even pass state and federal emissions standards and are being encouraged to join the VW class action.
