The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down German automaker Volkswagen‘s bid to avoid lawsuits filed by officials in three states and looking for damages emerging from the diesel emissions cheating scandal involving the automaker.
The justices declined to hear appeals by the automaker and German auto supplier Robert Bosch LLC of a lower court ruling permitting Florida’s Hillsborough County and Utah‘s Salt Lake County to seek to hold the companies liable under regional laws and regulations barring tampering with vehicle emissions controls. The court also turned down the automaker’s appeal of a similar ruling in a case brought by the state of Ohio.
A Volkswagen spokesperson noted that the court’s refusal to hear the appeals was not a “determination of the merits” of the automaker’s legal arguments.
“We are confident in the strength of our factual and legal defenses, including that the software updates decreased emissions, and will contest these claims vigorously as these cases proceed,” the spokesperson said.
Volkswagen Group of America Inc has argued that under the Clean Air Act, the landmark U.S. environmental law, only the federal government can pursue such claims. The automaker noted that it already has reached a settlement of over $20 billion with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The lawsuits alleged the automaker of deceiving the EPA – and in doing so also breached the local laws.
In one case, the automaker was seeking to overturn a 2020 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit had made the decision that the Clean Air Act did not preempt local efforts to impose liability over vehicles that the automaker had tampered with after they were sold. The 9th Circuit, however, agreed with the automaker that it could not be held liable under the local anti-tampering laws for actions it took before the sale.
The 9th Circuit said its decision could result in staggering liability for Volkswagen.
The automaker was also seeking to overturn a June ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that had similar conclusion.
The automaker has said it could face huge damages in the cases and possibly others.
