Only hours after Friday’s announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency notified Volkswagen that its cars were illegally polluting, David Fiol, a personal injury attorney in San Francisco, had filed a class-action lawsuit through a Seattle law firm in federal court.
He wasn’t alone either. Reuters reported that at least 25 class-action lawsuits were filed within hours of the EPA’s announcement as lawyers line up to take the lead on what could be one of the largest lawsuits against an automaker in history. Being the lead firm could be lucrative for the lead attorneys: A $2.65 billion 2006 judgement against AOL Time Warner on behalf of shareholders netted the lead firm’s owners $70 million in fees.
And according to the report, law firms don’t have to look far for clients. Many attorneys are VW TDI owners — a clear downside for having an highly educated customer base.
“These cars appealed to a certain segment,” Alabama lawyer Tony Mastando told Reuters. “We have conscientious friends who bought the cars with the belief they were doing something good.”
Many law firms are advertising online for clients in an effort to boost their base to bid for the top spot. According to one law firm looking for clients online:
“Many recalls of automobiles have occurred in recent years but none appears to be garnering the scorn of consumers like that of the recent Volkswagen/Audi diesel engine debacle. Apparently, the German automaker has been cheating on U.S. emissions tests for years through a clever software program designed to dupe the system … But where does that leave the some half million consumers who own or lease these cars? Likely the courts will have to solve this matter.”
According to the report, many lawyers say they won’t have to go that far. Steve Berman, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Fiol, said his Seattle firm has fielded more than 2,000 calls from VW and Audi owners since Friday.
“We have never seen anything like this,” Berman told Reuters.
There should be a way I can vote on headline jokes.
You guys are batting perfect 100% thus far.
By Monday I expect to see the ads on TV between “Hit by a semi?” and “Did you take Plixfloxinovatal?”
Exactly what I was going to say. “Contact the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe if you currently have a VW diesel”.
I always thought Dewey, Screwem, and Howe fought just a little harder.
I’ve already had ads here on ttac trying to get people to join the class.
How is this possible?? I didn’t even think they sold 2,000 VW TDIs over here.
Just under 500,000 4-cylinder TDIs sold in the US from 2009-15 (about 50,000 of those in California).
Collateral damage. They will claim the resale value of all Volkswagens of this era are negatively affected. Likely they are, but not nearly to the level the lawyers will claim.
TDI:
Technical Deception Inside
Toxic Defeat Installed
Tort Defense Imminent
Others?
Technically Dirty Ignition
Test Deceit Included
Tweaks Didn’t Indemnify
I’m sorry to see the lawyers get into this. They will make a killing while the owners will be lucky to get enough to pay for a tank of fuel. VW could short circuit them by making diesel owners an offer: Agree not to sue and we will swap your non-compliant car for a compliant 2016 model — your choice of gasoline or diesel.
A straight trade is unlikely, even if they can get the 2016’s EPA compliant. But max KBB +20% seems reasonable.
VW most likely committed fraud against these owners. Fraud is both a criminal offense and a ground for civil suits. VW deserves to be both sued and prosecuted.
Unfortunately, TDI owners don’t regularly watch The Price is Right or Judge Joe Brown, so they won’t see their TV spots.
Agreed.
I don’t join the usual chorus of lawyer-haters, either here or in real life, because a) I have many lawyer friends who are great people, and b) legal help, when you need it, is invaluable. I’ve had legal help for a driver’s license problem, a lemon car, a very complicated property purchase, and several patent disclosures.
I don’t care how much the lawyers make for their efforts against VW. The owners wouldn’t get anything without their help.
The same people who whine about lawyers are pretty quick to seek one when they’ve been wronged, or need to get out of a bind. Lawyers – or their proxies – are a good and necessary ally for carrying out everyday business.
I wonder how long it will be before owners start refusing to make payments because they can’t pass an emission test to renew the tag.
Given that the emission test isn’t on-the-road, and their cars are still fitted with the ‘defeat device’, they should still pass today’s tests.
Stopping payments may send a message to The Man, but The Man will send the Repo Man in response.
Tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars for the lawyers, a $500 off certificate on a new VW, along with a $10 gift card to Panda Express to the aggrieved parties.
You have to love ‘Merica.
Yay. And when I get my $23 from the class-action lawsuit, I’ll be sure to use it as a down payment on a set of all-weather floor mats.
Side note– regarding the half-witty headline, I image that there’s plenty of things quicker off the line than a broken TDI. A five-year-old leading a goat would be quicker than a Corvette, if it was a broken Corvette.