March 09, 2021 – The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has approved the diesel settlement of Daimler AG and its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA LLC with U.S. regulators comprehensively resolving the respective regulatory proceedings regarding emission control systems of approx. 250,000 diesel vehicles in the United States.
On August 13, 2020, Daimler already announced that the company had reached an agreement in principle with the authorities.
On September 14, 2020, both the U.S. authorities and Daimler communicated further details of the settlements when the settlement documentation was filed in federal court.
With the court approval, the settlement becomes effective, allowing Daimler to take an important step towards legal certainty in connection with various diesel proceedings.
Daimler has fully cooperated with the U.S. regulatory authorities. During this process, Daimler has not received a Notice of Violation (NOV) from the EPA or the CARB. An external compliance monitor is not part of the requirement.
As stated in the consent decrees and the class action settlement, the company denies the authorities’ allegations as well as the class action plaintiffs’ claims and does not admit any liability to the United States, California, plaintiffs, or otherwise. The settlement resolves Daimler’s pending civil proceedings with the U.S. authorities without reaching any determinations as to whether functionalities in Daimler’s vehicles are defeat devices.
Update, March 17th 2021