Cummins agrees to settle US emissions defeat device suit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Truck engine maker Cummins Inc agreed to settle a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Justice Department and California and pay a record-setting fine of about $1.65 billion for installing defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines.

In December, the Justice Department said Cummins had agreed in principle to the settlement the government said was the largest-ever civil penalty for a Clean Air Act violation. Under the proposed settlement subject to court approval, Cummins will pay $1.48 billion to the federal government and $164 million to California.

The Department said Cummins allegedly installed so-called "defeat devices" to bypass or disable emissions controls such as emission sensors and onboard computers.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)