Volkswagen’s emissions scandal took another turn Friday when the state of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the German automaker and its luxury brand, Reuters reports.
New Jersey becomes the fourth state to take legal action against VW in the wake of the company admitting it cheating on emissions testing on some of its diesel models.
The states of Texas, New Mexico and Virginia, as well as Harris County, Texas, have also taken legal action against the carmaker.
Damages in those lawsuits alone could be in the billions, on top of the $46 billion in damages sought by the U.S. Justice Department, which accuses VW of violating clean air laws.
The State Attorneys in 48 states are also still investigating the automaker, so things could get even more complicated for VW.
Reuters reports that earlier in the week, the company submitted a repair and recall plan for 80,000 sport utility vehicles or larger cars with 3.0-litre engines.
In other VW news, Reuters also reports that the company has delayed releasing its financial results for 2015 as it has been unable to determine the exact price of the scandal. The annual shareholders’ meeting has also been postponed.
The uncertainty was likely fuelled by the fact U.S. regulators rejected a VW plan to fix vehicles with 2.0-litre engines that were equipped with software that cheated emissions rules.
That could lead the company to opt for vehicle buybacks, which would be a costly endeavour.