Jefferson Co. Could Sue Vw

If approved, the county would authorize a Corpus Christi attorney specializing in these suits to take action against the German manufacturer for violations of the Texas Clean Air Act, according to a county official. Nitrogen oxide contributes to the formation of smog, or ozone, which has bedeviled Southeast Texas cities as tighter EPA standards on a pollutant known to irritate asthma and respiratory systems have been implemented. Retaining an outside attorney fluent in the issue rather than asking the district attorney's civil division to handle the matter is the same path the county took to recoup money from BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew out and released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, said Fred Jackson, assistant to the county judge. Volkswagen has already put aside $15 billion to settle lawsuits, pay fines and promote zero-emission vehicles, according to a class-action settlement approved last month in federal court.