The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG and Audi AG in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Unlike the numerous private class actions filed across the country that seek consumer damages over VW’s use of sophisticated computer software to cheat on emission tests, the Center’s lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to remediate the environmental harm caused by VW’s emissions scheme.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to appoint an independent organization to monitor VW’s compliance with state and federal laws and to order VW to pay a portion of its annual net profits into an independent fund administered by third parties to offset the environmental damage.

The Center is being represented by Michael D. Hausfeld, Walter D. Kelley, Jr. and James J. Pizzirusso of Hausfeld LLP in Washington, D.C. and by Michael P. Lehmann, Bonny E. Sweeney, Christopher L. Lebsock of Hausfeld LLP in San Francisco.

“The Center has sued VW and Audi because they committed an unprecedented corporate crime and fraud on the public that requires injunctive relief to remedy the harm caused by their violations of state and federal environmental and consumer protection laws,” said the Center’s Clarence Ditlow. “Class actions and government enforcement actions result in headlines, penalties and settlements that do nothing to change underlying corporate behavior or remediate the underlying damage caused by illegal behavior.”

“The independent monitors and auditors sanctioned by the Justice Department and federal agencies are nothing more than corporate law firms and employees who all too willing to sign off on the behavior of their employers in documents filed with withheld redactions.”

“When so-called independent funds are set up as was done in the Toyota Unintended  Acceleration class action, they go to auto company designed programs that benefit the auto maker — not the consumer,” Ditlow said.

Ditlow said that the Center will use its integrity and skills acquired through 45 years of battling the auto industry to ensure that this litigation will reform VW and Audi once and for all and set a precedent for all other auto companies in the future.