Volkswagen settlement details should be kept secret until filed, judge says after news report
A federal judge in San Francisco fears the public can be misled by stories about diesel emissions litigation against Volkswagen that are published before the tentative agreement is completed.
In court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he would order parties in the litigation over Volkswagen’s emissions software to keep secret the tentative deal until it is filed with the court, the Recorder (sub. req.) reports. The litigation is over software designed to mislead emissions tests that should have revealed the cars violate pollution standards.
Several aspects of the settlement were revealed in court on Thursday, however. The deal allows owners of Volkswagen cars with two-liter engines to have repairs to fix the excess emissions or to sell their cars back to the automaker. Those with leased cars can give them up without penalty. The Recorder (sub. req.), the Associated Press (in stories here and here), the New York Times and Reuters were among the publications with stories.
An agreement regarding Volkswagen’s three-liter engines is still being hammered out. The settlement will also include a fund to clean up the environmental damage.
A source told AP that vehicle owners would share in more than $1 billion in compensation that would vary based on the car’s age and miles. The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, however, disputed the figure. Analysts told Reuters the total cost of the settlement, with the buybacks, could reach $10 billion.
A prior story by the Die Welt newspaper said car owners would receive $5,000 each, Reuters reported. Breyer wasn’t happy about the leaked figure, according to the Recorder.
“I find it a disservice,” Breyer said, “to have information about where people are in terms of negotiations sort of floated out there, which these consumers believe are probably the terms of any final agreement.” Such disclosures can give Volkswagen owners the impression “that perhaps maybe their particular concerns won’t be addressed,” Breyer said.
A motion seeking preliminary approval of the agreement is due on June 21.
Still unresolved are lawsuits filed by the federal government that is pending before Breyer. The maximum environmental fine is $18 billion.
