Judge geared to greenlight VWdeal

$ 15B settlement would go toward payouts or buybacks to consumers for faulty cars

A federal judge signaled Tuesday that he’s likely to give final approval for a nearly $ 15 billion U. S. settlement over the Volkswagen Group emissions scandal.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California said in a hearing that he would rule in writing by Tuesday.

“The court is strongly inclined to approve the settlement, however I want to consider the objections further to determine whether the court should recommend any modifications,” he said. “There is an urgency as I’ve expressed to bring this matter to conclusion. Cars are on the road out of compliance of environmental regulations.”

Breyer already had given preliminary approval to the settlement, which allows owners of affected 2- liter diesel cars to choose between a free fix and a payout of $ 5,100 to $ 9,852 or a buyback and restitution worth a total of $ 12,475 to $ 44,176. On Tuesday, he praised the attorneys who negotiated the settlement, underscoring the likelihood he’ll sign off.

Separately, Breyer gave preliminary approval for a $ 1.2 billion settlement between Volkswagen and its dealerships.

The German automaker has admitted to rigging 11 million diesels worldwide with software to evade emissions standards, including 475,000 2- liter diesel cars in the United States.

More than 336,000 of the eligible VW owners had registered for the settlement, though they could back out if VW can’t come up with a fix. The company has yet to receive approval from the Environmental Protection Agency; if it fails to do so, everyone will be offered the buyback option.

The deal also includes $ 2.7 billion for environmental mitigation and another $ 2 billion to cover clean- emissions infrastructure.

VW plaintiffs’ attorney Elizabeth Cabraser said the deal “set a land speed record — probably an airspeed record as well.” She exhorted the judge to sign off, citing a nursery rhyme to describe the remediation: “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I think we’ve all ... put this back together again.”

Fewer than 1% of eligible VWowners opted out of the deal before the September deadline. People who did not respond are automatically considered to have taken the offer.

The Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and California regulators and attorney general have all thrown their weight behind the deal.