Texas county sues Volkswagen over diesel-emissions scandal

By Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) - A Texas county sued Volkswagen AG in state court on Wednesday, accusing the German carmaker of violating state environmental laws by installing software on some of its diesel vehicles to circumvent emissions tests. The lawsuit filed by Harris County, which includes Houston, seeks up to $25,000 (£16,522.37) per violation per day. Volkswagen faces a slew of lawsuits and potential criminal investigations after admitting this month that it equipped as many as 11 million diesel vehicles with software that had the effect of causing the cars to run cleaner during testing by regulators than they did in actual driving. "Volkswagen's deceptive acts have undermined Harris County's efforts to improve air quality, reach attainment status, and protect our citizens," said the lawsuit filed in the District Court of Harris County, Texas. A Volkswagen spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending litigation. Many early lawsuits against Volkswagen have been filed by drivers who say they have been defrauded by "clean" diesel claims. Harris County's lawsuit is one of the first to focus on the environmental harm caused by the emissions ruse. Some advocacy groups have argued that Volkswagen should be forced to pay a steep price for environmental damage caused by its actions. The American Lung Association on Tuesday urged the U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to force Volkswagen to take actions to offset all of the excess emissions released by the vehicles it tampered with. Once purchased by consumers and put on the road, Volkswagen diesel vehicles emitted much more nitrogen oxide than allowed by federal and state regulations. Nitrogen oxide contributes to ozone formation, which can cause health problems such as chest pain and coughing, and can worsen bronchitis and asthma, Harris County said in its lawsuit. The county estimated that beginning with the 2009 model year through the end of August 2015, Volkswagen sold more than 6,000 of the manipulated emissions vehicles within the county's borders. As its investigation of the matter continues, the county said it expects that estimate to increase. (Additional reporting by Jessica Dye in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis, Jeffrey Benkoe and David Gregorio)