Largest Penalty In U.S. Clean Air Act History For Underreporting Emissions And Fuel Economy

Article by John Georgakopoulos, Partner, with the assistance of Mark Youden, student-at-law.

On November 3, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced a proposed settlement between Kia, Hyundai, U.S. Government and California Clean Air Resources Board which marks the largest civil penalty in Clean Air Act history. The settlement will resolve the automakers' alleged Clean Air Act violations. As part of the proposed settlement, the automakers will pay a $100 million civil penalty (Hyundai to pay $56.8 million and Kia to pay the balance) to resolve alleged violations of emissions testing and certification of vehicles sold in the U.S. The consent decree allocates the proceeds of the penalties as follows: $93,656,600 to the U.S. Government and $6,343,400 to the California Air Resources Board.