VW Gets Preliminary Approval on $48 Million Diesel Lawsuit

Volkswagen AG has won preliminary approval by a U.S. court for a $48 million settlement of an investors lawsuit over the company’s diesel cheating scandal.

San Francisco federal district court Judge Charles Breyer ruled last week that the plan is “fair, adequate and reasonable.” VW concurs, adding that the proposed settlement will cut its legal costs by eliminating protracted litigation.

Breyer will hold another hearing on May 10 to collect further comment on the settlement before issuing a final ruling.

Investors had sought $147 million in compensation for losses resulting from what they describe as VW’s false and misleading statements about the emission levels of some 500,000 diesels sold in the U.S. Many of the plaintiffs are pension funds.

VW admitted in 2015 that the cars were among 10 million diesels it rigged worldwide to evade emission standards. The revelation slashed the company’s market capitalization to shrink by $63 billion and raised questions about whether VW should have alerted investors to the scandal more quickly.

VW has since agreed to pay some $25 billion in the U.S. in fines, compensation to diesel owners and environmental restitution.