Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay lawyers representing US owners of 475,000 diesel vehicles just over half of what they were seeking in fees and costs, according to a media report.
Sources told Reuters the automaker would $175m to lawyers in the class action litigation who had asked for up to $332.5m for work on a US$10bn that gives US owners of vehicles with a two-litred diesel engine the option to sell back their vehicles to VW.
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VW now has agreed to spend up to $16.7bn to compensate US owners and also deal with claims from states, federal regulators and dealers.
The $175m includes attorneys' fees and other costs anonymous sources told Reuters.
As seems to be usual in this long-running saga, lawyers for vehicle owners and Volkswagen declined to comment to the news agency.
A eadl plaintiff lawyer said in August the amount sought in fees was far less than the "judicially established benchmark" for class actions of approximately 25% of the settlement amount.
A court hearing in San Francisco on Tuesday (17 October) will determine final approval of the vehicle owners' settlement announced in June which would be the largest-ever automotive buy-back offer in the US, Reuters said. The judge will also decide on approval of the legal fee agreement.
VW may face further costs if regulators decide it should also offer 85,000 owners of three-litre Porsche, Audi and VW vehicles buy-back and compensation deals. That could result in additional legal fees, the news agency's sources said.
