Volkswagen knew it was coming and the first of many lawsuits against the company has finally arrived. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sued VW for false advertising related to the company’s emissions scandal. A false advertising suit was somewhat expected and the details of this case are both interesting and important - proving an excellent lesson for future companies that make false or unfounded claims.
The Lawsuit
The aforementioned watchdog has sued VW for advertisements that the company sent out in the past claiming that its ‘clean diesel’ cars were environmentally friendly. VW’s ‘green campaign’ in 2009 directly targeted consumers that were seeking environmentally friendly automobiles and were willing to pay top dollar for them.
Taglines such as ‘Hybrids? They’re So Last Year’ are what convinced a lot of consumers to purchase VW’s supposed eco-friendly cars. The only problem was (as we all later found out!) that VW cheated when it came to emissions testing resulting in the company selling diesel cars for top-dollar that did not perform as well as VW claimed.
The Current Stance
VW is still scrambling to make amends with consumers that the company wronged by fixing emissions test levels. The FTC lawsuit is currently in process and was filed in defense of all consumers that purchased a VW diesel car between the years of 2009 and 2015. Vehicles mentioned in the lawsuit include Jettas, Passats, Audi TDI, and Touaregs that were sold during those years.
VW has quietly tried to dispute the claims made against the company by taking the stance that it is not the only car company to use an emissions rigging device.
However, the company has also tried to make amends with consumers by offering small coupons and discounts. Further, VW has tried to make things right with dealership owners that lost money during this scandal (take a look at our other blog posts for these details).
We will keep you updated on the VW scandal as it unfolds in court. In the meantime, if you need any kind of personal injury help or would like a qualified team to look over your specific personal injury case, please contact the Dellutri Law Group today. We are here for you!
