Hyundai, Kia want consumer class claims dismissed

Hyundai and Kia Motors have asked the California federal judge to dismiss the consolidated consumer class claims filed by victims of car theft.

On May 4, Hyundai and Kia Motors asked the California federal judge to dismiss the multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging that they knowingly sold defective vehicles, saying they could not have foreseen a nationwide TikTok trend popularizing tips for starting the engine after breaking into Hyundai and Kia cars, according to Law 360.

An MDL is a consolidation of civil cases filed by different people in multiple courts. These cases are later combined and transferred to a single federal court.

The Korea Daily has previously reported that there are more than 30 class action and administrative lawsuits filed against Hyundai across the country.

In their request for dismissal, Hyundai and Kia claimed that they did not intentionally exclude anti-theft devices in their vehicles, and that they could not have foreseen a nationwide TikTok trend like “Kia Boys” to go viral as it did.

Noting that the class action lawsuit’s allegations are factually incorrect, Hyundai and Kia said that the exclusion of the immobilizer, an anti-theft device that was not mandatory before November of 2021, was not a cost-cutting measure.

They also argued that the viral social media theft trends could not have been foreseen. Therefore, since it was not a direct vehicle defect, it is unreasonable to conclude that Hyundai and Kia caused those thefts.

According to Law 360, “If the dismissal request is granted, the litigation risk will be mitigated. But if not, it will be seen as a failure to avoid liability, which will adversely affect future trials.”

BY JEONGIL RYU [support@koreadaily.com]