Prof. Vaaler Comments on Volkswagen's Prospective Legal Liability from Emissions Scandal

Professor Paul Vaaler was interviewed by Star Tribune business columnist Lee Schaefer on prospective civil claims and criminal charges Volkswagen (VW) may face following revelations last month that it installed software on certain diesel-powered VW and Audi models designed to "cheat" on emissions tests.  In addition to repair costs that may exceed $7 billion, VW may be liable for fines in excess of more than $10 billion from failure to comply with U.S., U.S. state (e.g., California) and foreign country (e.g., U.K.) emissions standards. Vaaler also listed various classes of prospective plaintiffs in the United States with prospective civil claims against VW, including but not limited to VW and Audi "clean diesel" car owners, their lending banks, trustees for bonds secured by such car loans, VW and Audi car dealers, and rental car companies (e.g., Hertz).  Finally, U.S., U.S. state and foreign country criminal probes of VW and its foreign subsidiary operations (e.g., VW USA) could lead to criminal charges against the company and or individual company executives for wrong-doing related to the non-compliance behavior and or any cover-up of that behavior after discovery. The confluence of regulatory, civil and criminal claims could threaten VW's survival.