Volkswagen AG (VW), the German automobile manufacturer, has been sued in an Illinois Federal court on Wednesday by three of its dealerships owned by Napleton Automotive Group. The plaintiffs have accused the automaker for intentionally defrauding through installing software on diesel-run vehicles capable of duping Federal emission tests.
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a Seattle based law firm representing Napleton has sought class status in its 111 page case filing. Hagens Berman is also familiar for representing thousands of VW diesel owners with lawsuits against the automaker following the 6-month-old scandal. However, through filing the suit, Napleton has defied a VW dealer council effort to refrain retailers from seeking court intervention against the grievances caused by the automaker's diesel-emissions crisis, reports Automotive News.
The suit accuses VW for alluring dealerships investing in showrooms for selling so-called environment friendly vehicles while deceiving the UUS regulators. It seeks compensation for losses the plaintiffs have incurred following stuck up of VW inventory in their showrooms. The lawsuit also accuses VW for improperly favoring selective dealers while forcing retailers into financing arrangements with a company-lending affiliate, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal.
In Diesel-gate scandal, VW has admitted installing an illegal defeat device in more than 550,000 US diesel vehicles. However, the US affiliate in-charge of VW's dealer network has intentionally withheld all information on the scandal from the current and potential dealers. Though it may be assumed that the US in-charge has been aware of the issue since at least as early as 2014, reports Business Wire.
VW is committed to resolve the US regulatory investigation to implement solution for the affected vehicles. The automaker is keen in regaining back trust from customers and dealers, cites a VW spokeswoman. A Federal judge has set April 21 deadline to reach an agreement with regulators on fixes for around 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles violating clean-air laws. The German automobile manufacturer has been witnessing drastic fall in US sells since disclosure of the Diesel-gate scam by the US regulators in September. Following the detection, VW has been compelled admitting installation of defeat software on diesel run vehicles to cheat government emissions tests. VW has completely failed in responding towards dealer concerns in a legitimate manner, which has led Napleton filing the lawsuit. It has talked on multiple plans and done nothing leaving the dealers in limbo, cites Ed Napleton, owner of the three plaintiff dealerships. The third dealership has been purchased by Napleton just prior to the disclosure of emission cheating by the US regulators, suggests the lawsuit. Napleton's dealerships are operated in Illinois and Florida.
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