The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Texas County is First Government Agency to Sue VW for Environmental Harm

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Larry Bodine

Texas County is First Government Agency to Sue VWHarris County, Texas has retained Benny Agosto, Jr. and Mo Aziz of the Houston law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend to join a team of lawyers who have filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America Inc. and Audi of America, LLC.

Harris County filed the lawsuit against the car manufacturer claiming that emissions from 6,000 diesel cars circulating on roadways in the region have caused harm to the population and environment of the region. This may be the first lawsuit filed by a government entity against the car company since management admitted to falsifying emissions numbers of certain cars released since 2009.

The Harris County Attorney’s Office appointed three law firms, including Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, to handle this important case. Harris County is seeking $100 million in damages, but that number could increase as more information about Volkswagen’s fraud becomes available.

Volkswagen’s deceitful acts

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan said, “Volkswagen’s deceitful acts have damaged the county’s ability to improve air quality, reach clean air attainment status and protect our citizens.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the diesel cars were sold with software that could identify emissions tests being performed on the cars and would then falsify results that underreported the extent and type of emissions produced by the vehicles.

Because of this fraudulent testing, the cars were producing nitrogen oxide emissions between 10 and 40 percent greater than allowed by EPA standards. Nitrogen oxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to ozone formation and even at low levels has significant health impacts such as intensifying symptoms of asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. The county attorney noted that funds recovered from the lawsuit could pay for the monitoring and cleanup of air pollution in the area.

Abraham Watkins is also involved in a consumer class action lawsuit against Volkswagen filed in Cook County, Illinois last Friday.

For more information about the lawsuit, contact attorney Benny Agosto, Jr. or attorney Mo Aziz by calling 713-222-7211 or emailing [email protected] or [email protected].

 

 

Posted in Blog, Personal Injury

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the United States has[Read More...]
Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it used recycl[Read More...]
Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manip[Read More...]
Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing has agreed to pay just over $2.5 billion to resolve a federal charge of “criminal misconduct” for how its [Read More...]
Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

The mass exodus of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top staff over accusations of bribery against their former boss has le[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.