"States Probe VW Over Emissions, Look for Settlement Money"

"WASHINGTON — An expanding investigation into Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal launched by state attorneys general could last years and will likely end in a negotiated settlement.

Forty-five states and D.C. have joined the review, investigating how VW was able to game emissions tests to hide that its 'Clean Diesel' cars emitted smog-causing exhaust up to 40 times dirtier than the law allows. The attorneys general are likely to seek compensation for consumers and redress for environmental harm, building their own investigations under state laws that protect consumers from deceptive trade practices and set clean air standards.

'This is a really important case and it has big economic and health consequences. It's nowhere near the scale of tobacco but you are kind of in that realm,' said former Wisconsin governor and attorney general Jim Doyle, who participated in the multistate investigation that ended in a landmark settlement against tobacco companies in 1998. 'This is the kind of case that you elect an AG for, to stand up for the safety and health of the people of the state.'"

Ronnie Greene and Ryan J. Foley report for the Associated Press October 20, 2015.