MDL Judge Dismisses City’s Consumer Fraud Act Claim Against Kia, Hyundai

LOS ANGELES — The judge overseeing the MDL docket for cases accusing Hyundai Motor America and Kia America of failing to equip their vehicles with anti-theft technology has dismissed a New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) claim asserted by Newark, N.J., on the basis that the city is not a “consumer.”

Judge James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California also dismissed with leave to amend the common law fraud claim, ruling it is not subsumed by the New Jersey Product Liability Act because the city sufficiently details defendants’ alleged failure to disclose their …