Motley Rice - Attorneys at Law
Navigation
Main navigation
Motley Rice represents clients across many areas.
Learn about the cases Motley Rice is actively representing clients in or cases that we've litigated previously.
Ozempic® users are filing lawsuits for vision loss, ileus, and other serious injuries.
Lawsuits allege talcum powder use is linked to reproductive organ cancer for women.
Lawsuits allege toxic heavy metals in baby food damage infants’ brain development.
Social media companies are being sued over alleged teenage mental health harms.
Meta is being sued for teenage mental health harms allegedly caused by Facebook and Instagram.
Women hurt by birth control drugs and devices may be eligible to sue over their injuries.
Studies link hair relaxers to uterine/ovarian cancer. Lawsuits seek to hold companies accountable.
Family members may have been eligible to file Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits.
People are filing gastroparesis lawsuits after using drugs like Ozempic®, Wegovy® and Mounjaro™.
While litigation can take years to complete from start to finish, our firm is always working for our clients, no matter how long it takes or how hard it gets.
Motley Rice attorneys and support personnel are dedicated to representing clients and working with co-counsel located throughout the United States and around the world.
Comprehensive, up-to-date news on the issues surrounding the litigation areas of Motley Rice LLC.
News, Learn about the latest happenings from lawsuits and other events impacting plaintiffs.
Motley Rice lawyers share their insights on litigation and more to inform people exploring their legal options.
This case is no longer active
Audi Emissions Fraud Lawsuit
The Legal Team
Volkswagen Group’s luxury brand, Audi, is at the center of another seeming emissions cheating scandal involving software installed in certain 2010-2016, gasoline-powered 3.0-liter Audis. The vehicles allegedly emit lower carbon dioxide, or CO2, levels under test conditions,reportedly discovered cheating software allowing the vehicles to exceed emissions standards undetected. The California Air Resources Board roughly one year after the EPA cited Volkswagen for violating the Clean Air Act regarding its TDI, or “Clean Diesel,” vehicles, leading to the procurement of the nearly $15 billion settlement agreement that resolved claims involving affected 2.0-liter vehicles.
Motley Rice has represented consumers affected by the “Clean Diesel” scandal as the firm’s co-founder Joe Rice helped lead settlement negotiations, reaching the largest auto-related consumer class action in U.S. history.
Nov. 16, 2016
Motley Rice filed a class action suit for consumers alleging that Audi AG and Audi of America installed certain gasoline-powered, 3.0-liter vehicles with a “defeat device” aimed at cheating emissions tests to evade government regulations. Read the class-action complaint.
Affected 3.0-liter Audi vehicles believed to contain a cheat device are model years 2010-2016:
Audi admitted some of its vehicles “use software to detect when vehicles are undergoing emissions tests and adjust their carbon-dioxide (CO2) output.” VW told a German newspaper that “adaptive shift programs can lead to incorrect and non-reproducible results.”
The software in the affected 3.0-liter Audi vehicles appears to recognize when the vehicle’s steering wheel is dormant, an indicator that the vehicle is undergoing lab testing, and lowers the vehicle’s emissions output accordingly. If the steering wheel turns more than 15 degrees in either direction, the device turns off and regulates normal, elevated carbon dioxide emissions, news reports state. Germany’s Transport Ministry stated that it will follow up on CARB’s findings to further the investigation.
While EPA and CARB have not commented on the situation, a CARB spokesperson stated, “CARB takes seriously any violation of the certification process, especially those resulting in excess emissions.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the software appears to have been “designed to mask emissions implicated in global warming, instead of smog as in the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal that erupted last year.”
Audi reportedly stopped using the software in May 2016, shortly before it was discovered, and several of the German automaker’s engineers were suspended.
Motley Rice has held a leadership role in resolving claims filed by consumers who owned and or leased hundreds of thousands of 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter vehicles in the Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Emissions Fraud litigation. Firm co-founder Joe Rice helped lead negotiations in both settlements as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California approved the nearly $15 billion settlement for 2.0 liter vehicles on Oct. 25, 2016. This is the largest auto-related consumer class action in U.S. history. The 3.0-liter settlement received final approval from Judge Breyer on May 11, 2017 and includes various options for “Generation 1” and “Generation 2” vehicles.
For more information on the 2.0-liter settlement, visit www.vwcourtsettlement.com.For more information on the settlement programs and deadlines, visit https://vwmpgsettlement.com/.
*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
The Wall Street Journal (November 16, 2016) — VW, Audi May Face Higher Emission Suit CostsForbes (November 13, 2016) — And Now, CO2gate: Audi Puts Volkswagen In Even Deeper TroubleBloomberg (November 9, 2016) — VW Accused of Concealing Emissions Cheating in Audi Gas Cars