NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 11/20/15 -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen Group of America ("Volkswagen" or the "Company") (OTCQX: VLKAY) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased Volkswagen securities between November 19, 2010 and September 21, 2015 inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").
If you are a shareholder who purchased Volkswagen securities during the Class Period, you have until November 24, 2015 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen is one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. In 2014, Volkswagen sold over ten million cars, representing approximately 13% of the global passenger car market. The Company comprises 12 brands: Volkswagen passenger cars, Audi, SEAT, SKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen commercial vehicles, Scania and MAN.
The Complaint alleges that prior to and during the Class Period, defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud and made numerous materially false and misleading statements and omissions to investors regarding the Company's operations and its business and financial condition and outlook. Specifically, defendants misled investors by failing to disclose that the Company had utilized a "defeat device" in certain of its diesel cars that allowed such cars to temporarily reduce emissions during testing, while achieving higher performance and fuel economy, as well as discharging dramatically higher emissions, when testing was not being conducted. The use of this device allowed Volkswagen to market its diesel vehicles to environmentally conscious consumers, increasing its sale of diesel cars in the United States and abroad and, as a result, its profitability. As a result of defendants' scheme and false and misleading statements and omissions, Volkswagen's ordinary and preferred ADRs traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching highs of $54.82 and $56.55 per ADR, respectively, on December 30, 2013.
On September 18, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued a Notice of Violation ("NOV"). The NOV stated that defendants had installed sophisticated software in Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles sold in the United States that could detect when the vehicle was undergoing official emissions testing and turn the full emissions controls on only during the test. At all other times, however, the emissions controls were deactivated, meaning that pollution was freely released into the environment at levels exceeding those allowed by federal and state clean air regulators. This software produced and used by Volkswagen is a "defeat device" as defined by the Clean Air Act.
That same day, The New York Times published a front-page article entitled "U.S. Orders Major VW Recall Over Emissions Test Trickery." The article reported that the Company had "illegally installed software in its diesel-power cars to evade standards for reducing smog" and that Volkswagen had "admitted to the use of a so-called defeat device. The recall involves 4-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from model years 2009-2015." The article also reported that the Department of Justice ("DOJ") had opened an investigation and that fines of as much as $18 billion could be imposed as a result of defendants' misconduct.
In the days following these disclosures, which began to reveal the relevant truth that had previously been concealed from the market, Volkswagen's share price collapsed. Specifically, between September 17, 2015 and September 22, 2015, the price of Volkswagen's ordinary ADRs plummeted over 33%, from a close of $38.03 per share on September 17, 2015 to $25.44 per share on September 22, 2015. Volkswagen's preferred ADRs declined from a close of $38.05 per share on September 17, 2015 to a close of $23.98 per share on September 22, 2015.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
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