9th Upholds $10B VW Dieselgate Settlement
The massive Volkswagen not-actually-clean diesel scandal seems to be winding down, at least in terms of legal action in the U.S. While the most recent settlement was approved by the Northern District Court of California, there were still a few hurdles to clear (namely objections to the approved settlement).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the objections and has approved the settlement, leaving practically no roadblocks between bamboozled consumers and the eventual payday from the German automaker. The $10 billion settlement covers almost half a million vehicles. This settlement, when added to the tally of other U.S. settlements, brings the total damages VW agreed to pay up to around $25 billion.
Fraud in the Software
As we've seen throughout the VW "dieselgate" scandal, as it's been dubbed, the company has tried to maintain its reputation for quality and style. However, that's been incredibly difficult given the massive breach of the public's trust, the arrests related to the scandal, and not to mention their home country of Germany really sticking it to them.
Most recently, a German court ruled that the report prepared by Jones Day for VW concerning "dieselgate" was properly seized in a search of VW's Audi offices. And despite attorney client privilege, Jones Day's offices were even raided.
Unfortunately for the BigLaw tech Goliath, the German court easily rejected their objection to the raid, explaining that the firm isn't it's client and cannot make a constitutional claim in German court because it is not incorporated in Germany and therefore doesn't get the protections afforded to businesses incorporated in Germany.
Related Resources:
- United States Ninth Circuit Cases (FindLaw's Cases & Codes)
- BBC Asks California Federal Court for Dr. Who Leakers (FindLaw's U.S. Ninth Circuit Blog)
- 9th Circuit Chops Down Artists' Royalty Law (FindLaw's U.S. Ninth Circuit Blog)