Olens Announces Money for Georgia & Georgians In VW Settlement

Attorney General Sam Olens sends word that Georgians who bought diesel powered Volkswagens will be receiving cash and either repairs of their cars or buybacks, while the state itself will receive about $77 Million. In a settlement announced this morning, each person who bought a car from that didn’t meet emissions standards will receive at least $5,100 and either have a retrofit performed or the car purchased back at pre-scandal prices. This affects over 17,000 Georgia families. The state, per press release, will receive the following:

Environmental Mitigation Fund: Volkswagen will pay $2.7 billion into a trust to support environmental programs throughout the country to reduce emissions of NOx. This fund, also subject to court approval, is intended to mitigate the total, lifetime excess NOx emissions from the 2.0-liter diesel vehicles identified below. Under the terms of the mitigation trust, Georgia is eligible to receive $58,105,433.35 to fund mitigation projects.

Additional Payment to the States: In addition to consumer restitution, Volkswagen will pay to the states more than $1,000 per car for repeated violations of state consumer protection laws, amounting to $570 million nationwide. This amount includes $18,872,700 paid for affected vehicles Volkswagen sold and leased in Georgia.

Volkswagen will also pay $20 million to the states for their costs in investigating this matter and to establish a fund that state attorneys general can utilize for future training and initiatives, including investigations concerning emissions violations, automobile compliance, and consumer protection.

This settlement is a result of “a multistate coalition of State Attorneys General co-led by attorneys general in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington, and joined by Georgia and 36 other states and jurisdictions against Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Porsche AG and Porsche Cars, North America, Inc. – collectively referred to as Volkswagen.”