SEATTLE, LOS ANGELES – Consumer-rights firm Hagens Berman has joined forces with Quinn Emanuel, the world’s largest business litigation firm, to take on Volkswagen, the world’s biggest auto manufacturer. The two firms are today filing a class-action complaint in federal court in Los Angeles against Volkswagen and its U.S. subsidiary for cheating emissions tests, falsely advertising its vehicles and defrauding consumers. This comprehensive action is the first in the nation filed on behalf of affected VW customers with class representatives from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This is the fourth suit Hagens Berman has filed arising from the emissions scandal. The lawsuits allege VW has for years intentionally employed a software “defeat device” that allows its CleanDiesel vehicles to pass state and national emissions tests despite releasing nitrogen oxides during normal use at rates up to 40 times higher than legal limits.

Steve Berman, Hagens Berman’s managing partner explained, “We expect a hard fought litigation on many fronts across the globe. Our goal is to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients and the class.”

He added, “Quinn Emanuel will help us accomplish that. Like Hagens Berman, they know how to win. Quinn Emanuel has secured verdicts and settlements totaling more than $42 billion – including a $1.1 billion settlement with Volkswagen. Quinn Emanuel provides the additional advantage of offices in Germany staffed by German litigators, as well as lawyers with relevant technical degrees.”

John B. Quinn, Quinn Emanuel’s managing partner, said, “We look forward to pursuing these claims with Hagens Berman. We want to ensure that owners of affected vehicles will be compensated for VW’s massive fraud.”

Berman added, “VW CleanDiesel owners are mad as hell. They feel deceived. Volkswagen has been defrauding hundreds of thousands of car purchasers for years. Now it’s time VW faces the music.” Berman achieved a $1.7 billion settlement from Toyota in the Sudden Unintended Acceleration Litigation and has successfully litigated and resolved other nationwide auto-defect cases. He was included in the National Law Journal’s 2014 and 2015 lists of Elite Trial Lawyers, with a 2015 nomination in the Motor Vehicles category.

Hagens Berman has received thousands of inquiries from aggrieved Volkswagen owners. According to the EPA, Volkswagen installed its deceptive software, called a “defeat device,” in at least the following CleanDiesel models of its vehicles: Jetta CleanDiesel (model years 2009 – 2015), Jetta Sportswagen (model years 2009 – 2014), Beetle and Beetle convertible CleanDiesel (model years 2012 – 2015), Audi A3 TDI (model years 2010 – 2015), Golf CleanDiesel (model years 2010 – 2015), Golf Sportswagen CleanDiesel (model year 2015), and Passat CleanDiesel (model years 2012 – 2015). Join the class-action lawsuits against Volkswagen if you have an affected model. Please visit Hagens Berman’s website: /cases/volkswagenaudi-emissions and complete the registration form. If you have unanswered questions, contact our legal team now. 

So far, Volkswagen has left its customers in the dark. It has provided owners no guidance about what owners should do with the cars, which may not be legal to operate until the emissions are EPA compliant, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman. Owners’ calls to dealers have gone unanswered or are answered with “we don’t know.”

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

About Quinn Emanuel
Quinn Emanuel is a 700-lawyer business litigation firm. With 18 offices globally, it is the largest law firm in the world devoted solely to business litigation. Firm lawyers have tried over 2,300 cases, winning 88.2% of them. Four times the firm has been voted one of the four “most feared” firms by General Counsels at Fortune 500 companies — the lawyers they “least like to see” on the other side. Further information is available at www.quinnemanuel.com.

Contacts
Hagens Berman
Ashley Klann
[email protected]
206-623-7292

Quinn Emanuel
Shon Morgan
[email protected]
213-443-3000