Three Government Entities In Texas Suing Volkswagen For Millions

Lawsuits have been one of the fallouts from the Volkswagen diesel emissions crisis. Most of those suits originate from consumers, however, the latest group of suits filed against the German-based automaker comes from Texas.

The state of Texas, Harris County Texas and City of Dallas have already or plan on to file lawsuits against Volkswagen. For the state of Texas, their suit claims the automaker violated their state clean air laws. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke about the suit in a statement saying, “For years, Volkswagen intentionally mislead consumers about the environmental and performance qualities of the vehicles they sold in Texas. When companies willfully violate the public’s trust, a penalty must be paid, and we will hold these entities responsible.”

According to the suit from the state of Texas is seeking restitution on behalf of VW 2.0 liter diesel owners in the lone star state who were “victimized by Volkswagen’s deceptions and misrepresentations.” The state of Texas is also seeking to file an injunction to bar any other companies from engaging in similar behavior. Finally, the state of Texas is pursuing civil penalties from the automaker to try to dissuade them from any similar actions in the future.

In addition to the state government, Harris County, Texas is suing Volkswagen for $100 million. Richard Mithoff, the attorney representing the county told KHOU that he feels that fraud on the part of VW will be “relatively easy to prove.” The stated goal of the lawsuit is to get each VW or Audi diesel vehicle purchased in Harris County fixed or repurchased.

Finally, The city of Dallas, Texas is planning to follow the state and Harris County and file a lawsuit against Volkswagen. City officials in Dallas are apparently concerned that the deceptive VW software impacted the environment in Dallas. According to the Dallas Morning News, the city reportedly wants to “put a stake in the ground” before other government entities file similar suits against VW.

Do you think that these type of lawsuits could grow in size and start to take a toll on Volkswagen? How can the automaker fix their public image while simultaneously fixing their vehicles? Finally, have you had any consumer questions about VW diesel vehicles at your store?