You are included in the Settlement if you own, lease, or previously owned or leased a Fuel Economy Class Vehicle or Other Class Vehicle as of June 29, 2022, or if you own a Sport+ Class Vehicle and complete the Sport+ Emissions Compliant Repair during your ownership, unless such a repair is not made available.

The list of Fuel Economy Class Vehicles, Sport+ Class Vehicles, and Other Class Vehicles can be found at Important Documents page and in the answer to Question 4.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement, you can contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-681-2759.

The following entities and individuals are excluded from the Class:

• Defendants’ officers, directors and employees and participants in the Porsche Associate Lease Program; Defendants’ affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors and employees; Defendants’ distributors and distributors’ officers, directors and employees;
• Judicial officers and their immediate family members and associated court staff assigned to this case;
• All individuals who leased a Class Vehicle from a lessor other than Porsche Financial Services;
• All individuals who are not Fuel Economy Class Members, Sport+ Class Members, or Other Class Vehicle Class Members, as defined in Sections 2.28, 2.36, and 2.51 of the Settlement Agreement;
• All those otherwise in the Class who or which timely and properly exclude themselves from the Class, as provided in the Settlement.

The compensation available in this Settlement depends on the specific Class Vehicle you own(ed) or lease(ed).

Click here to access the Benefit Calculator to estimate your compensation under the Settlement for eligible vehicles.

FUEL ECONOMY CLASS VEHICLES

If you have a Class Vehicle that requires a Monroney Label change (known as the “Fuel Economy Class Vehicles”), the compensation will depend on the number of months that you owned or leased the vehicle. The table below lists the Fuel Economy Class Vehicles and the compensation available for those vehicles.

If you are the original owner of a Fuel Economy Class Vehicle and continued to own the vehicle on June 29, 2022, you will be eligible to claim the maximum compensation for that vehicle. If you acquired a used Fuel Economy Class Vehicle (i.e., you are not the original owner), or you previously owned or leased a Fuel Economy Class Vehicle, your compensation will depend on the number of months that you owned or leased the vehicle within the first 96 months after the vehicle was first sold or leased to its original owner/lessee. Finally, if you own a used Fuel Economy Class Vehicle as of June 29, 2022, and it has not been 96 months since the vehicle was first sold or leased to its original owner/lessee, you will be eligible to claim compensation for the months that you owned the vehicle, as well as any months remaining within that 96-month period.

OTHER CLASS VEHICLES

Class Vehicles that do not require a Monroney Label change (known as the “Other Class Vehicles”), are eligible for compensation of up to $200 per vehicle. The table below lists the Other Class Vehicles. If you are the original owner of such a vehicle and continued to own the vehicle on June 29, 2022, you are eligible to claim the maximum compensation for that VIN. If you are not the original owner, you will split the compensation with any other Class Member who submits a valid claim for that VIN.

SPORT+ CLASS VEHICLES

In addition to the compensation described above, if you have a Class Vehicle that is also a Sport+ Class Vehicle, you will be eligible for an additional $250 after you complete the Sport+ Emissions Compliant Repair recall or submit a valid claim for the Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation (see Question 7). This Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation is paid on top of the compensation for Fuel Economy Class Vehicles and Other Class Vehicles described above. The table below lists the Sport+ Class Vehicles. To qualify as a Sport+ Class Vehicle your vehicle must be equipped with Sport+ Mode or PDK Sport Mode.

The Settlement is designed to compensate Class Members for driving vehicles for which the actual, on-road fuel economy may be up to 1-2 MPG less than was originally represented to consumers on the vehicle’s Monroney labels. Differences between the original and revised fuel economy ratings among the Class Vehicles resulted in different compensation amounts for each model and model year.

The compensation available for Fuel Economy Class Vehicles consists of (1) the difference in cost for the amount of gasoline that would have been required under the original Monroney fuel economy label and the greater amount required under the adjusted fuel economy label, and (2) a goodwill payment of an additional 15% of those damages to account for the inconvenience associated with additional gas fill ups. The gasoline price used in the Settlement calculations is $3.97/gallon, based on an inflation-adjusted average nationwide price for premium fuel during the relevant time period. The Fuel Economy Class Vehicle compensation is available for the first 96 months after the vehicle was originally sold or leased (the full useful life of the vehicle), and the compensation is calculated on a monthly basis.

For more information on the fuel economy difference in the Fuel Economy Class Vehicles, please see attachment Exhibit 3 to the Settlement Agreement.

The deadline to file a claim was December 7, 2022 and has passed.

If you own a Sport+ Class Vehicle for which an Emissions Compliant Repair recall is available, you will be eligible for the $250 Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation once your vehicle receives the Emissions Compliant Repair. After you complete the Emissions Compliant Repair, you will receive an automatic $250 payment once Porsche confirms that your vehicle received the Emissions Compliant Repair.

If you own a Sport+ Class Vehicle and an Emissions Compliant Repair does not become available for your vehicle, you must submit a claim to receive the $250 Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation.

The Claims Administrator will issue the Sport+ automatic payments on a rolling basis approximately every 6 months, and will include the $250 Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation with payment for your valid Fuel Economy or Other Class Vehicle claim, if applicable.

Please note that the Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation is paid separately from the Fuel Economy and Other Class Vehicle compensation described above. Even though the Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation will automatically be paid to you after you receive the Emissions Compliant Repair for your Sport+ Class Vehicle, you must have submitted a timely claim to receive the Fuel Economy or Other Class Vehicle Compensation.

The deadline to file a claim was December 7, 2022 and has passed.

If your vehicle is also a Sport+ Class Vehicle, you must complete the Emissions Compliant Repair by December 30, 2023 to receive the automatic Sport+ Class Vehicle compensation. If an Emissions Compliant Repair is not available for your Sport+ Class Vehicle, you must submit a Sport+ Class Vehicle claim form (as described in Question 7) by December 30, 2023.

Payments are now being sent on a rolling basis and are anticipated to be completed by August 2023. When you submitted your claim form, you may have chosen to receive your payment via check, PayPal, Venmo, or bank wire.

The Settlement Administrator will begin issuing the automatic payments for Sport+ Class Vehicles with payments for valid Fuel Economy and Other Class Vehicle claims, and will continue to issue these automatic payments on a rolling basis. These automatic payments will be issued via check to the address of the registered owner who completed the Sport+ Emissions Compliant Repair or submitted a valid Sport+ Class Vehicle claim form. If you have a Sport+ Class Vehicle and preferred to have your payment issued via PayPal, Venmo, or bank wire, you must have submitted a timely claim form to select your payment option.

While it is the intention of Class Counsel that any payments made as a result of the Settlement not be subject to taxation, you should consult a tax professional to assess the specific tax implications of any payment you may receive. A tax professional will help you understand the specific tax implications for you.

If there are any funds remaining in the Settlement fund after all valid, complete, and timely Claims are paid to Class Members, the remaining money may be redistributed, if feasible, to the Class Members who submitted valid claims. If it is not feasible and/or economically reasonable to distribute the remaining funds to Class Members, then the balance will be directed to environmental remediation efforts, subject to Court approval. This may include, for example, the purchase of greenhouse gas credits, environmental projects, and/or other, environmentally-focused recipients, as agreed by the Parties and approved by the Court.

Please check the Home page regularly for updates regarding the status of any unclaimed funds after the claims period has ended.

You are receiving the Notice because you may be a member of the Settlement Class. The Court in charge of this case authorized the Notice because Class Members have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit, and to understand all of their options before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement. The Notice summarizes the Settlement and explains Class Members’ legal rights and options under the Settlement.

Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is in charge of this case. The case is known as the “Porsche Gasoline Emissions case” and has been consolidated in the In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, No. 3:15-md-2672. The people who sued are called the “Plaintiffs.” Porsche and Volkswagen are the “Defendants.”

A class action is a representative lawsuit. One or more plaintiffs (who are also called “class representatives”) sue on behalf of themselves and all other people with similar claims, who are not named, but are described in the class definition and are called “class members.” When a class action is settled, the Court resolves the issues in the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who request to be excluded from (or “opt out” of) the class. Opting out means that you will not receive benefits under the Settlement. The opt out process is described in Question 16, however, the deadline to opt out of the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

In exchange for your payment from Defendants, you will give up your right to sue the Released Parties for the claims being resolved by the Settlement, and will give up your right to obtain compensation other than the value provided by the Settlement (see Question 15). The Settlement has no effect on claims concerning vehicles not included in the Settlement.

Section 10 of the Settlement Agreement contains the complete text and details of what Class Members give up unless they excluded themselves from the Settlement, so please read it carefully. The Settlement Agreement is available at the Important Documents page. If you have any questions, you may talk to the law firms listed in Question 20 for free, or you may talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

There are many claims for relief in this nationwide class action, including some claims that seek punitive damages. The list of claims starts at paragraph 143 of the Amended Consolidated Consumer Class Action Complaint, filed on June 15, 2022, in the Northern District of California. The Amended Consolidated Consumer Class Action Complaint is available at the Important Documents page. If you have any questions about the claims and remedies in the class action, you may talk to the law firms listed in Question 20 for free, or you may talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

The deadline to exclude yourself (opt out) of the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

If you purchased a Sport+ Class Vehicle after June 29, 2022 and you wish to opt out only for that Sport+ Class Vehicle, you must submit a signed written request (postmarked or e-mailed) within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle.

Your request must include:

• Your name, address, telephone number, and the VIN of your Class Vehicle;
• A statement as to whether you own/owned or lease/leased the Class Vehicle, and the dates of your ownership or lease of the Class Vehicle (i.e., start date and, if applicable, end date of possession);
• A statement that “I wish to exclude myself from the Class in Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche/Bentley Fuel Economy Class Action Settlement in In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, No. 3:15-md-02672-CRB (N.D. Cal.) (MDL 2672)” or substantially similar clear and unambiguous language; and
• Your personal signature and date (electronic signatures, including Docusign, are invalid and will not be considered personal signatures). Opt-out requests that are signed by an attorney but not by the Class Member are also invalid.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up the right to sue the Defendants for all of the claims that the Settlement resolves and you will be bound by the Court’s orders and judgments, even if you do not file a claim.

No. If you excluded yourself, you will not get a payment from the Settlement.

The law of most states provides for various remedies if a claim is proved at trial and upheld on appeal. None of these can be predicted with certainty, and all take additional time. The Settlement is designed to provide benefits that are certain and not subject to the delay and risk of trial and appeal. If you opted out and pursued your own case, you needed to hire an attorney at your own expense, or represented yourself, and there is no guarantee that you will recover any compensation. The deadline to exclude yourself (opt out) of the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

Yes. The Court previously appointed Lead Counsel to prosecute all consumer claims pending before Judge Charles R. Breyer as part of multidistrict litigation in In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, No. 3:15-md-02672-CRB (N.D. Cal.) (MDL 2672). Elizabeth J. Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is Lead Counsel and has been appointed Interim Settlement Class Counsel (“Class Counsel”) in this case. She can be contacted in that capacity at no charge to you at:

Elizabeth Cabraser, Lead Counsel
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
PorscheClassCounsel@lchb.com

No. Class Counsel will represent you for purposes of the Settlement at no charge to you. As explained in Question 22, any attorneys’ fees and costs awarded to Class Counsel by the Court will be paid from the Settlement fund. Please note, however, if you have been or are currently represented by your own lawyer, any money you may owe to your lawyer will not be covered by this Settlement. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. It is possible that you will receive less money overall if you choose to hire your own lawyer to litigate against the Defendants rather than receive compensation from this Settlement.

The Court issued a Final Approval Order of the Settlement and Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and costs on November 9, 2022. The Order granting Final Approval is available on the Important Documents page.

Class Counsel asked the Court to award attorneys’ fees of up to 30% percent of the Settlement fund and up to $1.1 million in expenses to compensate them for the work they performed in litigating this case and securing this nationwide Settlement for the Class. Class Counsel also asked the Court to award each of the 34 proposed Settlement Class Representatives a service award of up to $250 for their work in this litigation. 

Class Members had an opportunity to comment on and/or object to the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses and Settlement Class Representative service awards. The deadline to object to the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

The deadline object to the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

You can object only if you do not opt out of the Class. Opting out is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement, and you do not want to receive any payment from the Settlement. If you opt out, you have no basis to object to the Settlement by telling the Court you do not like something about it, because the case no longer affects you.

If you object to the Settlement, you are expressing your views about the Settlement but remain a member of the Class (if you are otherwise eligible). If you make an objection, you must still submit a claim to receive compensation under the Class Action Settlement.

The deadline to exclude yourself (opt out) of or object to the Settlement passed on September 30, 2022.

The Court held the final approval or “Fairness Hearing” on October 21, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PT via Zoom. The Court issued a Final Approval Order of the Settlement and Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and costs on November 9, 2022. The Order granting Final Approval is available on the Important Documents page.

No. Class Counsel answered questions the Court may have had. You were welcome to attend at your own expense. If you timely filed an objection, you did not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your written objection on time, the Court consider it. You also may have had your own lawyer attend at your expense, but it was not necessary.

The Court held the final approval or “Fairness Hearing” on October 21, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PT via Zoom. The Court issued a Final Approval Order of the Settlement and Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and costs on November 9, 2022. The Order granting Final Approval is available on the Important Documents page. All counsel, members of the public, and media may access the webinar information at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb.

You may have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. You must have filed with the Court a written notice of your intent to appear. Your notice of intention to appear must have been filed or postmarked no later than September 30, 2022.

The Court held the final approval or “Fairness Hearing” on October 21, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PT via Zoom. The Court issued a Final Approval Order of the Settlement and Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and costs on November 9, 2022. The Order granting Final Approval is available on the Important Documents page. All counsel, members of the public, and media may access the webinar information at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/crb.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are available in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy the Notice, the Settlement Agreement, and other documents from this litigation at the Important Documents page. You may also write with questions to Porsche Gasoline Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, PO Box 91385, Seattle, WA 98111, send an email to info@PorscheGasolineSettlementUSA.com, or call 1-888-681-2759. You may also access the Court docket, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov, or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102.