Volkswagen Proposed Class Settlement Program

In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” MDLSandra Di Mauro, Michael Di Mauro, Rebecca Connors, Duane Simons, and Donna Simons, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., and Volkswagen Aktiengesselschaft, Defendant.Volkswagen Proposed Class Settlement ProgramIn September 2015 Volkswagen admitted it had installed a “defeat device” designed to cheat emissions tests, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that the cars emit as much as 40 times the standard for nitrogen oxides.After months of litigation, Volkwagen will pay up to $14.7 billion to resolve consumer class actions filed as a result of its emissions scandal made public on September 18, 2015.More than $10 billion will be paid to owners and lessees of Volkswagen and Audi two-liter diesel vehicles. These payments will be made in the form of buybacks, lease terminations, repairs and cash payments.In regard to the environmental relief portion of the settlement, Volkswagen will pay $2.7 billion into a trust to promote non-polluting cars (zero emissions vehicle technology), over and above any amount it previously planned to spend on such technology.The settlement includes cash payments to owners of between $5,100 and $10,000, in addition to vehicle buybacks, which are based on the value as of September 2015, when the emissions scandal became public.If the car changed hands after September 18, 2015 and during the claims period, the settlement will be equitably divided between the owner as of September 18, 2015 (“Eligible Seller”) and the current owner. To qualify for an Eligible Seller restitution payment, you will have at least 45 days from the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order to identify yourself. If the preliminary approval is granted by the Court on July 26, 2016 when the preliminary approval hearing is conducted, you will have until September 16, 2016 to identify yourself. Note that if you sell your car after June 28, 2016, you will not be an Eligible Seller or an owner.The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, is the largest consumer class action settlement in U.S. history. U.S. District Senior Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California has scheduled a preliminary approval hearing for July 26, 2016.Paoli Law Firm, P.C. has filed the consumer class action complaint in Montana: Sandra Di Mauro, Michael Di Mauro, Rebecca Connors, Duane Simons, and Donna Simons, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., and Volkswagen Aktiengesselschaft, Defendant.Montana Class Representative and Paoli Law Firm client Sandra DiMauro was named a class representative for the National Class case.