Last month, the Texas Attorney General agreed to a settlement in principle with car manufacturers Audi and Volkswagen requiring them to pay a civil penalty of $85 million for alleged violations of the Texas Clean Air Act and...more
This week, Volkswagen AG’s U.S. entity and its Audi brand were hit with a class action for a data breach that allegedly compromised 3.3 million consumers’ personal information. ...more
In January, GM became the first large US auto manufacturer to commit to stop manufacturing gasoline-powered passenger cars and switching entirely to zero emissions vehicles for passenger cars, vans, and SUVs by 2035. The news...more
House leaders are out with a new Covid stimulus effort—slimmed down from earlier packages but, at $2.2 trillion, a sizeable proposal that they say “is needed to support American households and businesses still experiencing...more
Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay a total of $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations by the DOJ and SEC. Wells Fargo admitted “that it took millions in wrongful fees and interest, misused customer information...more
As the Kansas City Chiefs fought to a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, a series of high-profile television commercials announced that electric and autonomous vehicles are no longer mere designs...more
The fight between insurers and car manufacturers as to whether and, if so how, to protect the design of spare parts for cars delayed the implementation of an EU regulation on design protection for well over a decade and ended...more
Drug giants Pfizer and Mylan have inked a deal that will merge the former’s off-patent drugs with the latter’s generics business, a tie-up that creates a mammoth global seller of lower-priced medicines....more
In January 2019, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan returned an indictment against four executives from Audi, a Volkswagen subsidiary, for their participation and direction of Audi’s emissions-cheating...more
In order to comply with European antitrust rulings against it earlier this year, Google announced that for the first time it will begin charging telephone handset manufacturers to install Gmail, Google Maps, and other popular...more
JPMorgan has agreed to pay $65 million to US authorities [in the form of the CFTC] to resolve allegations that its traders attempted to manipulate the benchmark rate known as ISDAfix....more
Germany’s diesel emissions scandal bears a lot of resemblances to the Wells Fargo debacle here at home. It just can’t seem to quit itself. This week, we’ve learned that German authorities have opened a criminal inquiry into...more
Just when you thought it could not get any worse, events remind us that things actually can get worse. Volkswagen suffered through a horrible scandal involving an elaborate scheme to circumvent emissions regulations. The...more
On July 28, 2017, a group of plaintiffs filed a putative class action in the Northern District of California against BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Daimler, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as auto-parts manufacturer Robert Bosch....more
Many people watch the Super Bowl for the game. Others watch for the commercials. And perhaps even more watch for both. In years past, it would not have been uncommon for people to spend the Monday after the Super Bowl at the...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Senate votes to block EPA’s clean water rule: The Hill - Nov 4:: The U.S. Senate approved a bill Wednesday to block the Obama administration’s new regulation defining federal authority...more
Vehicle safety systems are experiencing a period of development unlike any in the history of the industry. While the 20th century focused on passive safety systems, such as crumple zones, seat belts, and airbags, these...more