VW Gets Punitives Reduced in ‘Clean Diesel’ Bellwether Cases (2)

Five car owners who opted out of Volkswagen AG’s settlement of diesel-cheating claims and won damages for lost value in a test trial aren’t entitled to $25,000 each in punitive damages, a federal court in California ruled.

The plaintiffs’ compensatory awards, ranging from $582 to $3,133, can constitutionally support punitive awards that are only four times those amounts, “even in light of Volkswagen’s egregious misconduct,” Judge Charles R. Breyer said for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Breyer also ruled on other post-trial motions. He rejected both the plaintiffs’ request for a mistrial based on his ...