“Final Settlement in the U.S.” – Judge Charles Breyer approves VW’s $15 billion settlement offer

VW’s $15 billion settlement offer for their cheating in the emissions testing back in September last year has been approved in the U.S. courts.

The U.S. has a totally different jurisdiction to the UK, so this doesn’t direct help the situation here in Europe, but we remain confident we will be able to win our action anyway. For us, it’s just a matter of time, and we believe the U.S. settlement has taken place earlier because of the huge fines VW were being threatened with over there that our government here seem too shy to do!

The settlement

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said that the settlement offer was enough to ‘adequately and fairly’ compensate affected vehicle owners, and may be a step in the right direction to get the vehicles off the road as soon as possible.

On top of the $5,100 to $10,000 compensation, the settlement also provides 500,000 vehicle owners with the option of returning the vehicles, regardless of the condition, for the full trade-in price, or have them repaired.

The settlement offer has been reported to be the “largest settlement for an auto scandal in U.S. history” which doesn’t come as a surprise as a large proportion of vehicle owners were affected by the scandal. The settlement valuation includes a $2.7 billion fine payable to the EPA, and $2 billion will be put towards environmental incentives and developments, specifically promoting zero-emission vehicles.

Implementation

Although the $15 billion offer has been settled, the next tricky phase is implementation. However, VW seems to have no qualms about implementing the offer right away.

It’s reported that VW will implement the settlement immediately and they will hire 900 employees to assist with the buybacks, with one employee at each of its 652 U.S. dealerships. It would be in their best interests to quickly execute the settlement, and then to move on from the scandal, which has been described as the largest scandal in the automotive history.

Further delays?

Vehicle owners may experience further delays as the buyback of the vehicles are not expected to start until later in the year. The owners who opted for the repairing option may have to wait even longer, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have yet to approve of a solution to rectify the vehicles that had the cheating software in the diesel vehicles.

A sincere apology?

There is a huge symbolic meaning in VW’s settlement; it seems to show that VW are ready to move on with the next phase of their business.

Following their most recent ‘electric vehicles’ launch with a more ‘emotive VW‘ they seem to want to get people back on side.

But we’re not convinced – if they were really apologetic for their actions, they would seek to rectify the damages they have caused by making a settlement offer worldwide, including here in the UK, as opposed to trying to refuse compensation to victims outside of the U.S.

It’s reported that EU officials are working closely with EU Member States in relation to their national consumer laws to penalise VW for their deception in the scandal, but compensation is not yet at the negotiating table.

Mixed emotions

However, not all vehicle owners are satisfied with the settlement offer. Some owners believe that VW has deceived them, which warrants further action.

Judge Breyer declined to support the minority who thought the settlement didn’t provide enough compensation. On the whole, the settlement agreement has been welcomed by consumer groups. Elizabeth Cabraser, lead counsel for the consumer group, said that this holds VW “accountable for its illegal behaviour and breach of consumer trust.”

Group action in the U.K.?

Although further settlement offers have not been proposed globally, Judge Breyer’s approval of the settlement could give ammunition for consumer group actions in the U.K., Europe, and in other affected countries.

It will hopefully put pressure on VW to grant the same compensation for their U.K. customers as they have done with their American customers.

If you have been affected by the scandal, please come forward and let us fight for justice and make VW accountable for their illegal actions in the U.K.