A jurisdictional objection no longer blocks the reimbursement claims. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the consolidated insurer actions can proceed in federal court in Santa Ana.
At stake is more than $1B in claims and costs the plaintiffs say they covered for thefts and attempted thefts. Their argument is that the two automakers deliberately shipped cars to the United States without an engine immobilizer, kept the part standard in other markets, and treated it as an upsell rather than a baseline safeguard.
The lower court had thrown the case out for lack of jurisdiction over two foreign automakers. The panel rejected that reasoning, so the consolidated actions proceed.
Owners have already settled with the brands for $145M, and state attorneys general won a separate $9M case. Both turned on the missing ignition safeguard, which disappeared from many American Kia models in 2011 and from Hyundai lineups five years later.
Researchers expect the fallout to outlast the litigation. A UCLA study released alongside the case projects elevated thefts of the vulnerable models through 2042, on the reasoning that a typical joyride ends with the car recovered and ready to be taken again. Angelenos were already losing these cars faster well before 2021, when Milwaukee videos pushed the trick into the national feed.
