Hyundai, Kia ask MDL Judge to Deny Request for Bellwether Trials, Calling it ‘Premature’

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America and Kia America asked the judge overseeing the vehicle theft MDL docket to deny plaintiff cities’ request for bellwether trials, arguing that “given the limited and deficient discovery provided to date,” bellwether selection would be premature.

In a Nov. 5 motion filed before Judge James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Hyundai and Kia say they “lack the basic, critical information necessary to propose a reliable and sound bellwether selection process (let alone choose potential candidates) that will result in the identification of plaintiffs representative of the …