A lawsuit was filed this week in federal court in Charleston against Volkswagen on behalf of West Virginians who own cars containing the emission cheating software the company admitted last month that it installed in 11 million vehicles.
The lawsuit, which asks that a judge grant it class-action status, was filed by Matthew Ray Lively, a Kanawha County resident, who purchased a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta with a Turbo-charged Direct Injection engine. Lively would represent more than 100 or more plaintiffs who purchased vehicles that contain "defeat device software," the lawsuit states.
It was filed by attorneys David Barney, Kevin Thompson, and P. Rodney Jackson, of Charleston, and Mark Underwood, of Huntington. It was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin.
A week ago, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court against Volkswagen claiming the company violated the state's consumer credit and protection act.
At the end of September, more than 30 federal lawsuits had been filed against Volkswagen.