In addition, the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have accused VW of cheating on six-cylinder diesels. It’s part of an ongoing effort by VW to overhaul what analysts see as a dysfunctional corporate culture.
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Feinberg earlier had been nominated by plaintiffs’ lawyers to oversee a settlement process in consumer lawsuits against the company.
Robert Wright, U.S. industry correspondent for the Financial Times, talks with Here & Now’s Eric Westervelt about how the company culture there might have contributed to the emissions cheating. The program is now the firm’s top priority, she said. Several lawsuits have already been filed. Most recently he awarded almost $600 million in payments to victims of the General Motors faulty ignition switch, including money to the families of 124 people killed because of the flaw.
Feinberg said that he will decide how much each owner should be paid. He has also handled compensation for victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and BP Plc’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill.
Feinberg’s extensive experience in handling complex claims “will help to guide us as we move forward to make things right with our customers”, Michael Horn, VW’s U.S. CEO, said in the statement. A judge in that case had asked lawyers to suggest names for a “special settlement master” and some put forth Mr. Feinberg. Feinberg said he will accept input on the program from VW, vehicle owners and their attorneys, and other interested parties.
Work on the program will start immediately, and historically it has taken 60 to 90 days to come up with compensation rules, Feinberg said. The program covers about 500,000 private vehicle owners.
The lawsuits allege varying claims, including consumer fraud, violations of civil racketeering laws and breach of contract.
Within hours of the EPA announcement, lawyers began filing suits as class actions on behalf of all US vehicle owners alleging violations of state consumer laws.
Volkswagen and Audi officials were scheduled to meet with USA environmental regulators on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, this week to discuss possible fixes for the vehicles, said a person familiar with the matter.
The cost of buying back the vehicles exceeds $9.4 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Volkswagen submitted its recall plan for the diesel vehicles to California regulators and federal counterparts on November 20. Details of the proposed remedy haven’t been disclosed.
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Instead, Musk and others urged California to order VW to accelerate the sale of zero emission electric vehicles.
