The VW legal gold rush is on with law firms rushing to sue the auto giant in respect of the diesel emissions scandal with at least 25 lawsuits already filed.

A number of class action lawsuits have already been filed and lawyers (not to mention the company) are waiting for the knock on the door from the US Department of Justice who are opening a criminal investigation into the software cheat device installed on VW vehicles.

There are also almost certainly to be fines and criminal prosecutions from Californian authorities and the EPA, together with a likely prohibition on the sale of TDI diesel vehicles in the US and Canada.

Most of the lawsuits go after VW for duping customers into buying its diesel cars for their eco-friendliness, when in fact the cars were fitted with the cheat device.

The law firm McCuneWright, which participated in the volley of suits against Ford and Hyundai for their inflated EPA fuel-economy numbers, lists no fewer than 11 individual complaints on its suit, ranging from “fraud by concealment” and “violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act” to “Deceit” and “Negligent Misrepresentation.” The other law firms involved sing a similar tune of misrepresented advertising, deceitful sales together with other causes of action.