U.S. judge throws out emissions fraud lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz

A U.S. judge in New Jersey on Tuesday threw out a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that Mercedes misled consumers about emissions standards in “BlueTec Clean Diesel” vehicles.Plaintiffs claimed Mercedes falsely advertised the BlueTec vehicles as having lower emissions. They said that they later found that the emissions were higher than U.S. standards permitted. 

The judge said the plaintiffs failed to show they actually viewed any of Mercedes’ advertisements touting the cleaner technology. He gave them leave to revise their complaint. Automakers that market diesel engines in the U.S. have been under increased scrutiny since Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 that it had rigged U.S. diesel emissions tests. Volkswagen ultimately agreed to pay $15.3 billion in settlements for owners as well as state and federal regulators. Read more