- The Ninth Circuit reversed a dismissal and ordered the case reopened on September 14.
- Insurers are seeking more than $1 billion in claims.
- The vehicles at issue span model years 2011–2022.
Kia and Hyundai are back in federal court over a theft wave that made national headlines for years, and this time insurers hold the wheel. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a dismissal on September 14, ordering a Santa Ana judge to reopen claims worth more than $1 billion.
About 200 insurance companies allege that the automakers' Korean parent entities knowingly shipped vehicles without engine immobilizers into California ports. The panel found personal jurisdiction applies there, even though the parent companies did not sell the cars directly to American buyers.
Ninth Circuit Ruling Puts Kia And Hyundai Back In The Spotlight
According to the Los Angeles Times, Judge Eric D. Miller wrote that the Korean entities "expressly aimed their intentional and allegedly tortious actions at California by sending thousands of shipments of vehicles to and through California's ports." That reasoning is what revived the case after the district court had tossed it for lack of jurisdiction.
The appeals court did not rule on whether Kia and Hyundai actually owe the money. It sent the case back to US District Judge James V. Selna's court in Orange County, where insurers now get another shot at proving their theft-related losses in front of a judge.
The vehicles at issue span model years 2011 to 2022, the stretch during which Kia and then Hyundai left immobilizers off many US trims. Kia dropped the anti-theft hardware in 2011 and Hyundai followed in 2016, well after most automakers had made it standard.
Kia and Hyundai have already settled two related cases, including a $145 million class action with vehicle owners and a separate $9 million settlement with state attorneys general over the missing ignition safeguard. Neither of those payouts touches the insurers' billion-dollar claim now heading back to Judge Selna.
How The 'Kia Boys' Theft Wave Led To Billion-Dollar Claims
The theft spree traces back to a design gap nobody outside the factory noticed for years. UCLA anthropology professor Jeffrey Brantingham put it bluntly: "Thieves didn't know these Hyundai and Kia cars were easy to steal until about 2020." Once TikTok tutorials spread, that changed fast.
Los Angeles saw thefts roughly double between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2020, a spike researchers tie to idle cars sitting through pandemic lockdowns across the county's nearly 8 million registered vehicles. A UCLA study now projects elevated theft rates for these vulnerable Hyundai and Kia models will persist through 2042.
Brantingham's broader point cuts to what insurers are arguing in court, "If there's one thing that auto manufacturers have done to really reduce auto theft, it's been the introduction of immobilizers." The Ninth Circuit's opinion echoes that, describing the missing feature as something automakers allegedly reserved as an upsell for American buyers.
A 2025 settlement tied to a 36-state class action already requires Kia and Hyundai to equip future models with standard immobilizer technology going forward. Owners of older, affected vehicles can still check for Hyundai recall and software-update programs tied to theft protection, though those steps address risk, not the pending insurance litigation.
Motor1's Take: For owners, the headline here is not just another lawsuit but a reminder that theft risk, software fixes, and insurance premiums are now tightly linked. Insurers are trying to claw back what they paid on claims. Underwriters will study how often courts let them reach back up the chain to the manufacturer instead of just raising premiums or walking away from certain models.
