Posted by Brandon Glover.
Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, claimed that Volkswagen violated consumer protection law through a cheating emission scheme. Beshear is seeking civil penalties and restitution for the owners of the 3500-plus owners of Volkswagen registered in Kentucky. Regulators state that the “software . . . was designed to cheat on required emissions tests.” The suit was filed in Franklin County Circuit Court in Frankfort with belief that Volkswagen, “must be held accountable for false promotion of its vehicles.”
Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for Volkswagen, stated the company does not normally comment on legal matters. Despite this, she said that the company is “working with federal environment regulators and others to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”
Beshear, on behalf of the state of Kentucky, is not the only state to file a lawsuit. Texas, New Mexico, New Jersey and West Virginia, have all filed lawsuits as well against Volkswagen. In addition to the aforementioned lawsuits, Volkswagen also faces hundreds of suits from actual vehicle owners. Prior to taking these suits into account, “the company potentially faces more than $20 billion in fines from states and federal regulators.”
Volkswagen confessed that it used illegal software in its “Clean Diesel” engines in September. The software helped vehicles pass emission tests, while emitting nitrogen oxide that proved to be harmful into the atmosphere when operated.
Brandon is an economics major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.