PHOENIX — The state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and its parent company Daimler, alleging the companies defrauded customers by installing "defeat devices" on its diesel cars to show lower emission levels than were actually emitted by the vehicles.
According to the Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office, Mercedes-Benz used "defeat devices" on its cars marketed as "clean diesel" so the vehicles would show lower pollution emissions when under actual driving conditions, the emissions were significantly higher. Mercedes-Benz marketed the diesel cars as "the world's cleanest and most advanced diesel" which the Attorney General's Office alleges are false and deceptive marketing claims. The company's cars emitted a large amount of nitrogen oxide pollutants and were not "clean fuel-efficient" automobiles that were promised to consumers, the Attorney General's Office said.
In the lawsuit, Brnovich seeks restitution and damages for Arizona customers who leased or purchased certain Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles from 2007 through 2016. The attorney general also seeks civil penalties that could be up to $10,000 per violation, according to the state's Consumer Fraud Act.