Insurers Demand Inclusion of Kia, Hyundai Parents in Theft Suits

Insurers seeking to hold Kia Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. liable for designing cars that were easy to steal told a federal appeals court that it was crucial for the South Korean parent companies to be defendants in the litigation.

“The business model was set in place by the Korean companies,” Adam Romney of Grotefeld Hoffmann LLP, who represented the insurer appellants, told a Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday. “They are the ones who made the decisions to create a specific model of these cars was designed only for the American market.”

The Korean parent companies were dismissed in 2024 from ...