Judge OKs deal by VW

$1.2-billion settlement over emissions test cheating covers cars with 3-liter engines.

A federal judge in San Francisco has approved a $1.2-billion settlement with owners of 88,500 Volkswagens with 3-liter diesel engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer gave the deal final approval during a hearing Thursday. The deal ends most of the litigation over VW’s cheating scandal, which became public in 2015.

Owners of 3-liter models from 2009-12 that can’t be fixed to meet pollution standards will be offered buybacks. They also will get compensation of $7,755 to $13,880.

Those who own newer cars will get compensation of $7,039 to $16,114. If VW can’t fix the newer cars, then the owners’ attorneys can return to court to seek buybacks. That could push the value of the settlement to $4 billion.

VW previously agreed to spend as much as $10 billion compensating owners of roughly 475,000 Volkswagens and Audi vehicles with 2liter diesel engines — the bulk of the vehicles caught up in Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal.

“These agreements accomplish our goal of making the consumers harmed by Volkswagen’s emissions deception whole, while repairing or removing illegally polluting vehicles from our roads,” Elizabeth Cabraser, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said in a statement.

The payments are available only to Porsche, VW and Audi owners who take part in the class-action lawsuit settlement, Cabraser said.

Breyer also approved a $327.5-million settlement with Bosch, which supplied the software in the cheating engines.

Under that deal, 3-liter diesel owners will get as much as $1,500 in compensation, while 2-liter owners will get $350.

Owners can go to www. VWCourtSettlement.com and www.BoschVWSettle ment.com for details on the agreements and how to apply for the benefits.