"U.S. court refuses to shield VW in diesel scandal lawsuits," 1 June 2020

A U.S. appeals court ruled…that Volkswagen AG cannot escape potential financial penalties…arising from the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal.

The unanimous ruling…was a victory for Utah’s Salt Lake County and Florida’s Hillsborough County. The counties sued VW for causing excess diesel emissions harmful to the environment and could in theory seek billions of dollars in damages…Volkswagen has admitted to using illegal software to cheat U.S. pollution tests in 2015, allowing up to 40 times legally allowable emissions.

...Volkswagen vowed to seek further review… saying the ruling conflicts with the findings of other courts. “Those other courts rightly recognized the chaos that would ensue if thousands of localities can regulate manufacturers’ updates of their software systems, which are an inherent feature of modern vehicles and, in this case, reduced emissions."