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Volkswagen settles claims for $14.7 billion; State to receive $16 million in penalties

SAN FRANCISCO — Volkswagen is agreeing to settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that it cheated on emissions tests by taking steps that will...
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SAN FRANCISCO — Volkswagen is agreeing to settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that it cheated on emissions tests by taking steps that will cost the company $14.7 billion and the state of Connecticut will receive $16 million in civil penalties.

Terms of the settlement were revealed Tuesday in orders filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The settlement covered both consumer complaints and government allegations of impropriety. For more on the settlement, click here.

Connecticut was one of lead states that  investigated Volkswagen’s conduct and the state will receive $16,281,335 as its share of the settlement’s civil penalties. $16 million will go to the state’s General Fund, according to the office of Attorney General George Jepsen. The remainder will be used to cover the costs of the Department of Consumer Protection and Attorney General’s Office, supporting consumer protection investigations, advocacy and litigation.

VW will pay just over $10 billion to either buy back the cheating diesel vehicles or repair them. It also will pay owners from $5,100 to $10,000 for their trouble. The German company also has to pay governments $2.7 billion for environmental mitigation and spend another $2 billion for research on zero-emissions vehicles in the U.S.

Lawyers say it’s the largest auto-related consumer class-action settlement in U.S. history.

Affected 2.0-liter diesel vehicles include:
2009 VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen
2010 VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3
2011 VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3
2012 VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, VW Passat , Audi A3
2013 VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, VW Passat, Audi A3
2014 VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, VW Passat
2015 VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW Golf Sportwagen, VW Jetta, VW Passat, Audi A3

Affected Volkswagen owners will receive a payment of at least $5,100 as well as a choice between a buyback of the vehicle (based on pre-scandal NADA value) or a modification to the vehicle if Volkswagen has a modification that is acceptable to environmental regulators. Owners would still be eligible to choose a buyback in the event regulators do not approve a modification. The consumer program also would provide benefits and restitution to lessees and sellers after September 18, 2015 when the emissions-cheating scandal was disclosed according to Jepsens’s office.

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