More than 200,000 Volkswagen Owners Register for Settlement

More than 200,000 people have registered to receive benefits under a proposed $14.7 billion settlement between Volkswagen AG, federal regulators and consumer class action plaintiffs, according to a court filing ( In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Mktg., Sales Practices and Prod., N.D. Cal., No. 15-md-2672, motion filed 8/26/16).

Attorneys representing Volkswagen owners and lessees, in a motion filed Aug. 26, formally asked a federal district court judge to approve the proposed settlement, which would resolve some claims against Volkswagen over the company’s use of illegal technology that allowed diesel vehicles to pass emissions tests despite emitting more pollution than allowed. The tentative agreement, which is expected to be approved in October, covers about 475,000 2.0-liter Volkswagen diesels sold in the U.S.

The attorneys said that about 210,000 owners and lessees have already signed up to participate, a figure that they said is “remarkable” given that the settlement has not yet been approved and the deadline for submitting claims isn’t until September 2018.

The tentative settlement would establish a $10.033 billion compensation fund for Volkswagen customers, as well as a pair of environmental remediation funds that would offer $4.7 billion for projects intended to mitigate the environmental damage caused by the emissions scandal. Volkswagen owners would have the option of selling back affected vehicles at a premium or waiting to see if Volkswagen gains approval for a technical fix that would bring the vehicles into compliance.

A hearing on final approval of the Volkswagen settlement is scheduled for Oct. 8 in San Francisco.