444 F.Supp.3d 1267
Linda SHORT, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, et al., Defendants.
CASE NO. C19-0318JLR
United States District Court, W.D. Washington, at Seattle.
Signed March 15, 2020
Filed March 16, 2020
Gretchen Freeman Cappio, Lynn Lincoln Sarko, Maxwell H. Goins, Ryan McDevitt, Keller Rohrback LLP, Seattle, WA, Benjamin L. Bailey, Jonathan D. Boggs, Bailey & Glasser, LLP, Charleston, WV, for Plaintiffs.
Christine Weijia Chen, Kari Wohlschlegel, Tina Lo, Patrick T. Burns, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, San Francisco, CA, Shon Morgan, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Alicia Cobb, Gavin K. Snyder, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Seattle, WA, for Defendants.
ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS
JAMES L. ROBART, United States District Judge
I. INTRODUCTION
Before the court is Defendants Hyundai Motor America, Inc. ("HMA"), Hyundai
Motor Company ("HMC"), Kia Motors America, Inc. ("KMA"), and Kia Motor Company's ("KMC") (collectively, "Defendants") motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Linda Short, Olivia Parker, Elizabeth Snider, Jennifer DiPardo, Anthony DiPardo, Seane Ronfeldt, and James Twigger's (collectively, "Plaintiffs") amended consolidated class action complaint. (See Mot. (Dkt. # 43); see also FAC (Dkt. # 42).) Plaintiffs oppose the motion. (Resp. (Dkt. # 44).) The court has considered the motion, the parties' submissions in support of and in opposition to the motion, the relevant portions of the record, and the applicable law. Being fully advised,1 the court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the motion as set forth below.
II. BACKGROUND
A. The Alleged Defects
This is a putative class action about alleged defects in 2011-2013 Hyundai Tucsons and 2012-2016 Kia Souls (the "Class Vehicles") that cause the Class Vehicles' engines to stall and, in some cases, to catch fire. (See FAC ¶¶ 1, 10.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendants "knew or should have known" about these defects yet failed to disclose them. (See id. ¶ 2.) One plaintiff, James Twigger, alleges that his vehicle—a 2014 Kia Soul—in fact did catch fire while he was driving it, totally destroying his vehicle. (See id. ¶¶ 2, 28-30.)
1. 2012-2016 Kia Soul
Plaintiffs allege that in February 2019, KMA issued a recall for 378,967 Kia Soul vehicles from the 2012 to 2016 model years, because the catalytic converter in those vehicles' 1.6-liter direct injection gasoline engines is susceptible to overheating. (See id. ¶¶ 34, 40, 42-43.) Further, the overheating can result in abnormal combustion, damage to the pistons' connecting rods, fracturing the engine block, and ultimately catastrophic engine failure and oil leakage that can result in engine fires. (See id. ) Plaintiffs allege that KMA "was aware of the dangers of an overheating catalytic converter in these engines since 2016." (See id. ¶ 36.) Plaintiffs make similar allegations about Kia Souls with 2.0-liter engines but allege that KMA has not announced a recall for those vehicles. (See id. ¶ 43.)
2. 2011-2013 Hyundai Tucson
Plaintiffs allege that manufacturing defects "leading to oil pan leaks in 2011-2013 Hyundai Tucson vehicles have caused serious risk of harm in the form of spontaneous engine stalling and engine fire." (See id. ¶ 44.) HMA issued a recall for "at least 120,000" Tucson SUVs from the 2011-2013 model years" due to oil pan leakage. (See id. ¶ 45.) However, Plaintiffs allege that the recall did not identify manufacturing defects in the Tucson's 2.0-liter engine as responsible for the oil pan leaks and fires, and even in July 2019, only referred to the Tucson's defect as "an important safety matter." (See id. ) That month, HMA announced another recall, but Plaintiffs allege that the recall does not address the root cause of the problem and is "too little too late." (See id. ¶¶ 49-50.)
B. Defendants' Knowledge of the Alleged Defects
Plaintiffs allege that Defendants "knew or should have known" about the Class Vehicle defects, and that Defendants "did not disclose any of the defects and have done nothing but conceal them until very recently." (See id. ¶¶ 51, 65, 66.) Plaintiffs also make more specific allegations about Defendants' knowledge of the alleged defects. (See id. ¶¶ 52-54, 57, 60-62, 65, 67-68.)
First, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants knew about the alleged defects because Defendants "have previously recalled other vehicles with GDI engines for similar defects." (See id. ¶¶ 52-53.) Specifically, Plaintiffs aver that in September 2015, Defendants recalled 2011-2012 Hyundai Sonata vehicles, and in March 2017, Defendants recalled 2013-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe Sport vehicles equipped with 2.0 and 2.4-liter "Theta II" GDI engines like those in the 2011-2013 Hyundai Tucsons. (See id. ) Plaintiffs quote National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") safety recall reports that describe the manufacturing defects in the recalled vehicles in detail. (See id. ¶¶ 54, 57.)
Second, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants "should have caught" the defects during Defendants' "rigorous durability testing" at KMA and HMA's joint testing facility, known as the "Proving Grounds." (See id. ¶¶ 60-62.)
Third, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants "definitely knew" about the defects in "at least the 1.6-liter engine" by mid-2016 at the latest, because KMA introduced programming that presumably remedied the problem in the 2012-2016 vehicles for 2017 model year Kia Soul vehicles. (See id. ¶ 65.) Thus, Plaintiffs allege that KMA "actively concealed its knowledge" of the defect between 2016 and 2019. (See id. )
Fourth, Plaintiffs allege that NHTSA received hundreds of complaints dating back to 2011 about 2012-2016 Kia Soul models with both the 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter engines. (See id. ¶ 67 (listing NHTSA complaints including hearing a "loud bang" and seeing "oil leaking from hole blown in lower engine block"; recounting losing power, the car shutting down "completely," "within a few minutes smoke started coming from the hood of the car followed by a small fire," and "the fire grew and completely burned the car"; describing how her "husband opened the door to the garage and found flames coming from the stationary Kia" and how "the entire garage caught fire").) Plaintiffs allege similar NHTSA complaints about the 2011-2013 Hyundai Tucson vehicles. (See id. ¶ 68 (listing NHTSA complaints including "catastrophic engine failure"; and "my engine blew on my 2013 Tucson, less than 75[,]000 miles.").)
C. Plaintiffs' Claims
Plaintiffs bring claims on behalf of a putative nationwide class and five putative statewide subclasses. (See id. ¶¶ 77-78.) Plaintiffs define the putative nationwide class as "[a]ll persons or entities in the United States (including its territories and the District of Columbia) who purchased or leased a Class Vehicle." (Id. ¶ 77.) The five statewide putative classes include residents of California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and West Virginia. (Id. ¶ 78.) Plaintiffs define the statewide putative classes as "[a]ll persons or entities in [name of state] who purchased or leased a Class Vehicle." (Id. ) On behalf of themselves and these putative classes, Plaintiffs bring the following 15 claims:
| Claim | Putative Class |
| Count I. Fraud by Concealment | The Nationwide Class, or alternatively, each of the state classes |
| Count II. Implied and Written Warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 2301, et seq. | The Nationwide Class |
| Count III. California Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200, et seq. | The Nationwide Class or, in the alternative, Plaintiff Parker on behalf of the California State Class |
| Count IV. Violations of the California False Advertising Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17500, et seq. | The Nationwide Class or, in the alternative, Plaintiff Parker on behalf of the California State Class |
| Count V. California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1750, et seq. ("CCLRA") | The Nationwide Class or, in the alternative, Plaintiff Parker on behalf of the California State Class |
| Count VI. Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act for Breach of Implied Warranties, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1791.1 & 1792. | Plaintiff Parker on behalf of the California State Class |
