by J.D. Davidson
Volkswagen will pay the state of Ohio $3.5 million in a lawsuit settlement over claims the company violated state environmental laws by manipulating computer software in its cars to hide carbon dioxide emissions, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
The settlement ends a lawsuit filed in 2016 by the attorney general’s office. It is separate from a lawsuit filed the same year by the attorney general’s office on behalf of consumers who claim they were misled by Volkswagen’s assertions of vehicle performance.
The attorney general’s office and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will split the settlement money.
“The damage to the environment and consumer trust required us to hold Volkswagen accountable and this settlement does that,” Yost said. “These funds will go toward protecting Ohio from other environmental hazards.”
The lawsuit claimed that after the sale of the vehicles, Volkswagen would manipulate the vehicle’s software when consumers would have them serviced or repaired at the dealership. This allowed the vehicle to be put into “test” mode, which suspended normal driving operations and reduced emissions only during testing.
In normal driving mode, the vehicles emitted higher levels of carbon dioxide, Yost said.
That suit claimed Volkswagen sold more than 570,000 vehicles in model years 2009 to 2015 in the U.S. that were equipped with the illegal software and its advertisements falsely represented to consumers the vehicles were environmentally friendly.
“These dollars will be put directly toward fighting other environmental cases now and in the future that protect Ohio and its residents,” Yost said.
The lawsuit included a Yost petition to the 10th District Court of Appeals to allow the lawsuit to move forward. Both the 10th District and the Ohio Supreme Court upheld that Ohio had legal grounds to sue.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused in June to accept Volkswagen’s appeal so Ohio’s lawsuit could move forward.
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J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. He is a regional editor for The Center Square.
Background Photo “Volkswagen Dealership” by JCT 600 CC BY-SA 2.0.
