Class-action suit filed on behalf of Missouri VW owners

ST. LOUIS -- A class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Missouri owners of diesel Volkswagen vehicles in the latest fallout from the German company's rigging of emissions technology to pass air-quality tests.

The suburban St. Louis law firm of Jacobson, Press & Fields filed suit Wednesday on behalf of three St. Louis county owners of VW vehicles. Like similar suits filed this week in Vermont and California, the Missouri action claims the VW owners were damaged by the diminished value, including resale value, of their diesel VWs.

The Missouri suit, filed in Jefferson City, said Volkswagen falsely promoted the cars as offering low emissions. It said the cars could be rendered unsafe if the government forces a repair in the emissions software, because the change could reduce the power of the vehicles.

"VW's representations to the market and to consumers were false," the lawsuit states. "VW achieved its claimed success in reducing emissions in its TDI (clean diesel) engines through trickery."

Volkswagen spokesman John Schilling said in an email Thursday the company does not respond to pending litigation.

The Environmental Protection Agency accused VW of installing a so-called "defeat device" to foil emissions inspections in 482,000 cars sold in the U.S. VW later acknowledged similar software exists in 11 million diesel cars worldwide.

The admission prompted the resignation of CEO Martin Winterkorn. The company's supervisory board met Friday and could announce new resignations then as well as a new CEO.

The lawsuit seeks actual damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

Jerry Reisman, a litigation expert at Reisman, Peirez, Reisman and Capobianco in Garden City, New York, said suits could be filed in all 50 states. Another suit was filed Wednesday on behalf of VW diesel owners in Iowa. It claims Volkswagen breached express warranty and violated the Iowa Consumer Frauds Act.

Reisman said VW executives should face criminal prosecution, too.

"It was damaging, it was contrary to the belief of purchasers who didn't get what they expected, and they should have significant recourse," Reisman said.