— A Mercedes-Benz emissions lawsuit is over after an appeals court affirmed a dismissal granted by a lower district court.
The emissions violations lawsuit was filed in 2020 by the Florida Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County.
The agency first alleged Mercedes installed "defeat device" software in vehicles from 2007-2016.
The lawsuit also alleged it was a violation to update emissions software after the vehicles were sold.
The alleged defeat devices allowed the vehicles to bypass their emissions control systems and emit more pollutants when not in an emissions-testing environment.
The Florida district court dismissed Hillsborough’s fourth amended complaint with prejudice which caused the agency to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit. By that time the allegations included only violations from post-sale conduct by Mercedes.
The district court had dismissed the Mercedes lawsuit after the judge, "found that Hillsborough still failed to allege 'additional information regarding the impact of the field fixes, recalls, or post-sale software updates on the vehicles’ emission control systems.'”
According to the appeals court, Hillsborough needed to allege facts showing Mercedes intentionally modified the emissions control systems in a way that rendered the systems inoperable or less efficient.
"Hillsborough’s allegations fall short because they do not state that the post-sale software updates made the emission control systems inoperable or less efficient. It is worth emphasizing that Hillsborough is only asserting claims relating to Appellants’ post-sale activities. This is why Hillsborough’s allegations fail." — Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit
The appeals court agreed with the lower court by finding, "Hillsborough failed to allege sufficient detail to plausibly state a claim."
The Mercedes-Benz emissions lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida: Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County Florida v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, et al.
