CORRECTING and REPLACING Hagens Berman Files National Lawsuit Against Mercedes Stating BlueTEC Diesels Pollute at Illegal Levels

Class action accuses Mercedes of deceiving consumers about emissions
levels

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The second paragraph, first sentence, should read: The suit, filed Feb.
18, 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey…
(instead of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois).

The corrected release reads:

HAGENS BERMAN FILES NATIONAL LAWSUIT AGAINST MERCEDES STATING BLUETEC
DIESELS POLLUTE AT ILLEGAL LEVELS

Class action accuses Mercedes of deceiving consumers about emissions
levels

An owner of a Mercedes BlueTEC diesel automobile today filed a class-action
lawsuit against Mercedes stating the automaker knowingly programmed
its Clean Diesel vehicles to emit illegal, dangerous levels of nitrogen
oxide (NOx) at levels 65 times higher than those permitted by the EPA
when operating in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, according to
consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman.

The suit, filed Feb. 18, 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the
District of New Jersey, accuses Mercedes of deceiving consumers with
false representations of its BlueTEC vehicles, which it marketed as “the
world’s cleanest and most advanced diesel” with “ultra-low emissions,
high fuel economy and responsive performance” that emits “up to 30%
lower greenhouse-gas emissions than gasoline.” According to the
complaint, on-road testing confirmed that Mercedes’ so-called Clean
Diesel cars produced average on-road NOx emissions that are 19 times
higher than the U.S. standard, with some instantaneous readings as high
as 65 times more than the U.S. limit.

“Mercedes labeled its BlueTEC vehicles as ‘earth friendly,’ selling
consumers the false notion that these diesel cars were less harmful to
the environment, but Mercedes never divulged to consumers that BlueTEC
diesels pollute at illegal levels when driven at lower temperatures and
that its ‘champion of the environment’ mantra was a sham,” said Steve
Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “It appears that Mercedes has
been caught in a similar scheme as Volkswagen and programmed these
BlueTEC vehicles to pollute, all the while reaping profits from those
who have fallen victim to its aggressive and deceptive eco-conscious
branding.”

The suit seeks relief for those who purchased the affected vehicles,
including injunctive relief in the form of a recall or free replacement
program and restitution including either recovery of the purchase price
or overpayment or diminution in value due to Mercedes’ misleading
statements and omissions regarding the emission levels of its Clean
Diesel BlueTEC vehicles.

The lawsuit alleges that the following Mercedes models powered by
BlueTEC diesel-fueled engines are affected by the unlawful, unfair,
deceptive and otherwise defective emission controls utilized by
Mercedes. Contact
Hagens Berman to find out your rights, if you purchased or leased
one of the following affected BlueTEC vehicles:

• ML 320

• R320

• S Class

• ML 350

• E Class

• GLK Class

• GL 320

• GL Class

• GLE Class

• E320

• ML Class

• Sprinter

• S350

• R Class

The complaint states, “Exposure to these pollutants has been linked with
serious health dangers, including asthma attacks and other respiratory
illness serious enough to send people to the hospital. Ozone and
particulate matter exposure have been associated with premature death
due to respiratory-related or cardiovascular-related effects.”

“When we filed the first lawsuit against Volkswagen regarding their use
of emissions-cheating software, we felt they were not the only culprits
duping consumers into paying a high price for deceptive diesels,” Berman
said. “Mercedes’ deception involves a cover-up of even higher levels of
pollution, and consumers paid high prices for these luxury vehicles they
thought were clean, only to be forced to drive diesel cars dirtier than
their gasoline counterparts.”

About BlueTEC Dirty Diesels

According to the complaint, diesel engines pose a particularly difficult
challenge to the environment because they have trade-off between power,
fuel efficiency and emissions: the greater the power and fuel
efficiency, the dirtier and more harmful the emissions.

“Car manufacturers have struggled to produce diesel engines that have
high power and strong fuel efficiency but also cleaner emissions,” reads
the complaint. “Mercedes’ response to the challenge has been the BlueTEC
diesel engine.”

Compared to gasoline engines, diesel engines generally produce greater
torque, low-end power, better drivability and much higher fuel
efficiency. But these benefits come at the cost of much dirtier and more
harmful emissions, including NOx, which include a variety of nitrogen
and oxygen chemical compounds that only form at high temperatures.

Hagens Berman has brought high-profile cases against General Motors,
Toyota and Kia, and was the first firm in the nation to file a lawsuit
against Volkswagen and Audi for their use of emissions-cheating
software. The firm is now in a leadership position in the VW
multi-district litigation.

Find out more about the class-action
lawsuit against Mercedes.

About
Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law
firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been named to the National
Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight times. More about the law firm
and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com.
Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

Contacts

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Ashley Klann, 206-268-9363
ashleyk@hbsslaw.com