Editor’s note: This article is by Edward Damon of the Berkshire Eagle, in which a longer version was first published.
BENNINGTON — A class-action lawsuit filed by two local owners of “clean diesel” Volkswagens alleges the German automaker violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act and deceived consumers by rigging cars to meet pollution standards. The lawsuit was filed in Bennington County Superior Court by Manchester law firm Witten, Woolmington, Campbell & Bernal on behalf of plaintiffs Gavin Cornell and Mildred Kaylor, both of Manchester.
“Our clients thought they were doing something environmentally sensitive when they purchased these vehicles,” Attorney Patrick Bernal said Friday. “Each of them feel as if the rug was pulled from their feet, as the cars are actually awful polluters and the company has admitted with tampering with the results of emission testing.”
The suit alleges the automaker violated the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act by including software that detected when its four-cylinder diesel cars were being tested for emissions. The plaintiffs seek restitution for damages and payment of attorney fees.
“Volkswagen ran extensive marketing online and on television in which they said the cars were environmentally friendly,” Bernal said, adding that their branding as “clean diesels” made the cars attractive to his clients.
Bernal said the suit was filed Thursday afternoon against Volkswagen of America, Inc., Volkswagen Group’s North American operational headquarters based in Herndon, Va. The suit was also filed on behalf of potentially thousands of Vermonters who have purchased the vehicles, Bernal said.
Volkswagen has been under fire since it was discovered that its four-cylinder cars powered by diesel engines had software that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance and allowing better results.
The “defeat device,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency, let the vehicles emit 10 to 40 times the allowable level of nitrogen oxide, an exhaust gas from diesel engines.
The EPA handed down a violation last week covering 482,000 cars with the turbo direct injection (TDI) diesel engine sold in the country since 2009 – the Jetta, Golf, Beetle and Passat, as well as the Audi A3.
Bernal said Cornell is concerned that the value of his car, a 2012 Volkswagen Touareg TDI, could be lowered regardless of whether or not it’s found to have a defeat device.
Bernal said Kaylor and her husband have owned diesel vehicles since 1975. She and her husband, George, never would have purchased their 2010 Jetta TDI had they known that it was not actually “clean.”
A similar class-action suit has been filed in Chittenden County, according to Bernal and VTDigger. Additional suits have been filed in multiple states including Maine and California, though it was unclear of the exact number.
Bernal said it is unclear how the multiple suits will pan out.
