This is someone working in VW sick humor, they will show us a good time and Textbook example of harassment for no logical reason whatsoever.
Actually there is a logical reason - they do not want want to pay. They are hoping people get frustrated and go away (some people will).
The problem I have is the CRC said pay these claims. And now VW sees a way to screw people again with an onerous requirement never mentioned anywhere (car just has to run getting to VW dealer).
I agree that Plaintiff Counsel is a bunch of milktoasts that do not get anything done. They often side with VW even when it is obvious VW is not doing the right thing.
According to the supervisor report (long cut and paste below) it does not state the car has to be operable the entire time.
Does anyone know the actual 'ruling' from CRC?
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a) Branded Title Claims
As set forth in previous reports dating back to June 2017, the Parties have been working with the court-appointed CRC to address how the eligibility requirements in the Class Action Settlement Agreement apply to certain consumers who submitted claims involving vehicles they acquired with a branded title sometime after September 18, 2015 -- the date the EPA issued its first notice of violation after discovering the existence of defeat devices.34
Following the first notice of violation, a limited number of consumers acquired vehicle models that were part of the notice of violation -- often at insurance auctions after the vehicles had been totaled in an accident. Indeed, of the 2,140 claims submitted by consumers who had acquired vehicles with a title that previously had been branded sometime after September 18, 2015, a total of 1,415 of these claims (66.1%) were submitted by 267 consumers. Additionally,
34 Title brands include salvage, rebuilt, reconstructed, and prior salvage, and indicate, among other things, whether a vehicle has sustained damage or may be unsafe to drive. A vehicle branded with a salvage title is typically one that was damaged to the point that it was declared a total loss by an insurance company, often because the cost to repair the vehicle was greater than the value of the vehicle in its damaged state. Generally, a vehicle with a salvage title cannot be registered with a state department of motor vehicles. However, the nomenclature related to title brands varies from state to state and will be analyzed accordingly, so that the eligibility requirements are consistently applied.
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the same 267 consumers submitted 72.2% of the 1,959 claims involving vehicles with branded titles that were acquired following the Court’s approval of the Class Action Settlement Agreement on July 26, 2016. By undertaking repairs necessary to convert these vehicles back to an operable state, the apparent intent of many of these consumers is to profit through participation in the Claims Program. Some of these consumers have taken the position that, because claims on these types of vehicles are not expressly excluded in the Class Action Settlement Agreement, they should be deemed eligible.
The Class Action Settlement Agreement expressly excludes claims by consumers with a vehicle that “had a Branded Title of Assembled, Dismantled, Flood, Junk, Rebuilt, Reconstructed, or Salvage on September 18, 2015, and was acquired from a junkyard or salvage yard after September 18, 2015.” It does not, however, expressly address circumstances involving a vehicle with a title that was branded subsequent to September 18, 2015. The stated goal of the Class Action Settlement Agreement “is to compensate owners or lessees of Eligible Vehicles for any harm they suffered as a result of the emissions issues and to ensure that Volkswagen’s 2.0-liter TDI vehicles do not generate excess NOx emissions.” Because some consumers acquired the vehicles at issue with a branded title after discovery of the defeat device became public, and many of the vehicles were out of commerce at the time they were acquired, the Parties and the CRC undertook to further scrutinize whether their claims should be deemed eligible.
Based on a holistic review of the Class Action Settlement Agreement in response to consumer appeals, the CRC adopted a general framework for processing branded title claims, which has been implemented by Volkswagen. The following is a non-exhaustive list of
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categories of branded title Buyback claims and the eligibility determinations that Volkswagen anticipates reaching as to each, based on the CRC’s guidance:
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(i) Owners of vehicles that were branded on or before September 18, 2015, and were acquired from a junk yard, salvage yard, or the equivalent (i.e., insurance auction) with a branded title after September 18, 2015, will be deemed ineligible for compensation.
(ii) Owners who acquired their vehicles prior to September 18, 2015, with a non-branded or salvage rebuilt title may be eligible for both Vehicle Value and Owner Restitution if the vehicles currently have a branded title (including salvage and salvage rebuilt titles), provided that all other eligibility requirements are met. If the vehicle currently has a brand of junk, non-repairable, “parts only,” or any equivalent brand denoting that the vehicle can never be rebuilt or repaired, the vehicle is eligible only for Owner Restitution.
(iii) Owners of used vehicles that were purchased with a branded title and had a “salvage rebuilt” or equivalent title as of February 26, 2018, are potentially eligible for Vehicle Value if all other eligibility requirements are met. If the previous owner of the vehicle does not submit a claim for Owner Restitution by the September 1, 2018 claim filing deadline, the consumer also may be eligible to receive Owner Restitution in addition to Vehicle Value.
(iv) Owners of used vehicles that were purchased with a salvage title and continue to have a salvage title on or after February 26, 2018, are ineligible for compensation. Once a vehicle has been deemed ineligible to participate in the Claims Program
35 Consumers with a branded title vehicle deemed to be eligible also will have the option of electing an AEM.
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due to the existence of a salvage title, no new claims submitted in connection with the VIN will be accepted for processing.
The Parties recognize that some claims relating to vehicles with branded titles involve unique factual circumstances. Due to these complexities, the Parties have advised the Claims Supervisor that they will continue to work collaboratively with the CRC to address such claims requiring more detailed analysis, so that determinations may be reached in conformity with the letter and spirit of the Class Action Settlement Agreement. As with all eligibility determinations, consumers may file an appeal from Volkswagen’s claims determinations with the CRC.
Following the CRC’s framework, Volkswagen has begun processing branded title claims that were previously on hold, and has reached determinations in connection with twenty-four such claims. Practically, the company is also providing notice to impacted consumers as their claims are processed. Of the 3,392 related claims that have not yet been processed, 1,935 claims are in the first ten-business-day review period, 1,199 claims are in the second ten-business-day review period, and 258 claims are in various other stages of the claims review process.36 The Claims Supervisor will continue to monitor the status of Volkswagen’s processing of claims involving vehicles with branded titles, and will provide updates in future reports.
