US SC declines VW's bid to halt emissions suits

The Volkswagen Group has failed in its attempt to bring pending "Dieselgate" cases before the US Supreme Court for review, meaning lawsuits seeking damages will move forward, reported dpa.

The justices dismissed without explanation VW's petitions for review of the cases on Monday.

The German car company had hoped to ultimately have decisions from lower US courts overturned by the high court and thus avert possible further penalties related to it emissions-rigging scandal.

In September 2015, under pressure from the US environmental authorities, VW admitted to having manipulated the exhaust technology of diesel cars for years using special software.

The company has already booked costs of more than 30 billion euros (34 billion dollars) because of the emissions scandal - most of it for fines and compensation payments in the United States.

But some diesel-cheat suits, in which individual counties and states are trying to get further money from VW, continue to wend their way through the legal system.

The specific cases that the carmaker had wanted halted by the Supreme Court involve lawsuits from the state of Ohio as well as counties in Florida and Utah.

The company argues that the claims have already been settled by penalties and compensation it had to pay for violations of the federal Clean Air Act.