9th Circuit revives VW emissions lawsuits from Florida, Utah

An appellate court revived on Monday lawsuits from counties in Florida and Utah against Volkswagen over the installation of emissions cheating devices.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ordered the cases back to San Francisco federal court in what could amount to billions of dollars in additional damages against the German automaker.

"We are mindful that our conclusion may result in staggering liability for Volkswagen," the judges wrote. "But this result is due to conduct that could not have been anticipated by Congress: Volkswagen's intentional tampering with post-sale vehicles to increase air pollution."

Volkswagen admitted in 2015 it installed software programs in its vehicles that inflated fuel efficiency to deceive federal regulators. It paid more than $20 billion to settle criminal and civil complaints filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but failed to obtain releases of liability from state and local governments.

Salt Lake County and Hillsborough County sued the German automaker for violations of county laws that prohibit tampering with emissions controls. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the lawsuits in 2018, saying they are barred by the Clean Air Act.

But Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta found the county's' claims are not pre-empted by federal law. She noted the finding might result in "unexpected and enormous" liability on Volkswagen. In re: Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, 15-MD02672 (N.D. Cal., filed Dec. 8, 2015).

-- Winston Cho