Another Lawsuit Launched at Mercedes-Benz in Diesel Litigation Barrage

Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, Daimler, has been hit with a second lawsuit from a U.S. law firm that represents owners of diesel vehicles, despite recent evidence that could render the suit invalid.

The suit from now-familiar firm Hagens Berman accuses the German automaker of employing an emissions “defeat device,” a la Volkswagen, in its diesel vehicles, according to Reuters (via Automotive News).

The suit alleges the device must be the cause of laboratory emissions test results that show higher nitrogen oxide emissions than during real-world tests.

Hagens Berman sued Daimler in February after Mercedes-Benz revealed that the effectiveness of the AdBlue urea-injection system in its Bluetec line of vehicles was reduced in cold temperatures to prevent condensation in the exhaust system.

Daimler has refuted the defeat device accusation, calling the class-action lawsuit “unfounded.”

“A component that inadmissibly reduces emissions is not used in Mercedes-Benz vehicles,” said Daimler in a statement.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that the German Federal Motor Transport Authority had completed tests on European diesel models, and found that only Volkswagen employed an emissions-cheating defeat device.

Other models showed irregularities during real-world testing, but they were within legal limits, the report said.

The Environmental Protection Agency requested information from Daimler following the first lawsuit, but no investigation into the automaker was opened. The regulator blew the lid off the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal by issuing a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act last September.

The exceptionally busy Hagens Berman is also behind a lawsuit filed this week on behalf of an Illinois Volkswagen dealer group, which targets the automaker for diesel-related financial losses.