In In re Kia/Hyundai Vehicle Theft Litig., Case No. 8:22-ML-03052-JVS, several hundred insurance companies are seeking to recover more than $1 billion in claims paid to drivers whose cars were allegedly easy to steal or vandalize. The insurers raised alleged consumer protection, breach-of-warranty, negligence, and fraud claims against US units Kia America Inc. and Hyundai Motor America, as well as their overseas parents, Hyundai Motor Company and KIA Corporation.
Certain 2011–2022 Kia and Hyundai models have no engine immobilizer — an electronic security device that makes it harder to start a vehicle without the appropriate key, the insurers said. Social media posts demonstrating how to break in and steal the cars fueled a rash of thefts, the carriers said. At issue are more than 14 million thief-friendly cars, the insurers said.
The South Korean car companies are the parent entities of American subsidiaries that are also part of sprawling litigation alleging 2011-2022 models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles lacked anti-theft design features. The insurers said Hyundai and Kia sent more than 7,500 shipments through California ports, the companies sold cars within the state, and employed people within the state. But those activities were done through the American subsidiaries.
And since the American subsidiaries assumed liability when cars were shipped to the US, the South Korean parent companies did not have sufficient contacts with the State of California to warrant the court’s jurisdiction. Accordingly, the court dismissed parent companies Kia Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co., holding that it lacks general personal jurisdiction over them.