Lawsuit Filed Against GM Alleging Diesel Emissions Fraud In Pickup Trucks

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against GM alleging that the company’s Duramax-equipped pickup trucks emit NOx pollutants at levels 2 to 5 times higher than is legally allowed in the US, and that these vehicles achieve this through the use of at least 3 illegal “defeat devices.”

These defeat devices allow the pickup trucks to pass federal and state emissions testing standards even though real-world use allows for much higher emissions levels, according to the lawsuit.

These allegations stem from on-road emissions testing that was conducted for the plaintiffs of the case.

Autoblog provides more: “The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Detroit on behalf of people who own or lease more than 705,000 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks fitted with ‘Duramax’ engines from 2011 to 2016 model years. The lawsuit seeks remedies including possible refunds or restitution for lost vehicle value, plus punitive damages. It adds to legal problems for Detroit-based GM, which has already paid about $2.5 billion in penalties and settlements over faulty ignition switches linked to 124 deaths. …

“The GM lawsuit was filed by several law firms, including Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, which helped reach multibillion-dollar settlements with VW on behalf of drivers and dealers. The case is Fenner et al v General Motors LLC et al, US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, No. 17-11661.

“The named plaintiffs are Andrei Fenner of Mountain View, California and Joshua Herman of Sulphur, Louisiana. They said they would not have bought their respective 2011 Sierra and 2016 Silverado trucks, or would have paid less for them, had they known about the alleged rigging.”

This news means that GM is now included amongst a large group of auto manufacturers which have been accused of (and/or plead guilty to) defrauding regulators with regards to diesel vehicle emissions testing. This group includes Volkswagen, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), Fiat-Chrysler, Renault, and Peugeot.

There are no doubt other auto manufacturers that have done the same, or similar, but as of yet it would be fair to assume that they’ve been at least a bit smarter about it than the companies mentioned above.


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

James Ayre has 4830 posts and counting. See all posts by James Ayre