On Tuesday, Attorney General Andy Beshear announced that he has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen, claiming that the German automaker intentionally cheated and deceived consumers from Kentucky by promoting its diesel-engine cars as having "clean diesel" technology.
According to Auto News, Beshear wanted Volkswagen to be held accountable for its misleading sales and promotion of its cars in the Commonwealth. He said that the automaker violated Kentucky's Consumer Protection Act. Meanwhile, Volkswagen admitted installing diesel emissions software to allow 580,000 US diesel vehicles sold since 2009 to emit up to 40 times allowable or legally approved emissions. Currently, the automaker faces a U.S. ban on selling 2016 diesel models.
The lawsuit filed by Beshear in a state court seeks civil penalties which could reach millions of dollars and a restitution for the owners of nearly 3,800 cars registered in Kentucky, reports The St. Louis Post. There are also reports that say that the automaker's penalty could reach more than $20 billion in fines from federal regulators and the states, along with class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of disappointed car owners. The state continues to fallout against Volkswagen since its admission in 2015 that about 600,000 vehicles were sold in the United States were installed with software that cheats on required emission tests.
Jeanine Ginivan, Volkswagen's spokeswoman told the press that the company typically does not make a comment on litigation. Courier-Journal reported that Volkswagen is working with federal environmental regulators and other agencies to fix the issue the soonest time possible.
The lawsuit headed by Beshear in Franklin Circuit Court also names Volkswagen's Audi and Porsche units. Kentucky is one of the five U.S. states to sue the German automaker along with, West Virginia, New Mexico, New Jersey, Texas, and Harris County.
The U.S. Justice Department and prosecutors from Germany are currently investigating Volkswagen, which has said that up to 11 million cars, installed with the "cheat software," were sold worldwide.
