Jan. 04--The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against Volkswagen on Monday, alleging the automaker violated the Clean Air Act.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Detroit on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, says illegal software was installed in nearly 600,000 VW diesel vehicles to cheat U.S. emissions tests.
The automaker has admitted to using the "defeat devices" in about 11 million four-cylinder diesel vehicles worldwide.
Diesel vehicles equipped with the software spew as much as 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides in normal driving.
In a statement, the Department of Justice also accused the automaker of violating the Clean Air Act by selling and importing vehicles that were designed differently from what Volkswagen had stated in certification applications to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board.
"With today's filing, we take an important step to protect public health by seeking to hold Volkswagen accountable for any unlawful air pollution, setting us on a path to resolution," Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance at EPA, said in a statement. "So far, recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward. These discussions will continue in parallel with the federal court action."
In a statement, Volkswagen said it will continue to work with the EPA and other government agencies to devise a remedy and bring the vehicles into compliance as soon as possible.
The automaker also said it is working with American attorney Kenneth Feinberg to create "an independent, fair and swift process for resolving private consumer claims relating to these issues."
The civil complaint seeks injunctive relief and assessment of civil penalties, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
Jack Nerad, executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said the lawsuit could push Volkswagen to come up with a remedy more quickly.
"The regulators are only allowed to fine up to a certain dollar amount," he said. "And so this ups the ante there pretty significantly."
The scandal broke in September with announcements from federal and state regulators. In November, the EPA issued another notice of violation about certain vehicles with 3.0-liter engines.
VW has suspended nine managers who were possibly involved in the emissions scandal.
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