Court to Reconsider Hyundai-Kia Fuel Economy Lawsuit Deal

A U.S. appellate court has agreed to review its earlier decision to reject a proposed settlement for owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles with overstated fuel economy ratings, Reuters reports.

The $210 million class-action agreement was rejected by a three-judge panel in 2013. Now the San Francisco court says it will convene an 11-judge panel at an unspecified date to reconsider the ruling.

The lawsuit sprang from a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that flawed test procedures by Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia Motors affiliate over-estimated the efficiency of about 900,000 vehicles the companies sold in the U.S. during the 2011-2013 model years.

The appellate court originally decided by a 2-1 majority that a lower court failed to consider whether differences in state-by-state laws would affect the definition of the covered group of plaintiffs. The majority also ruled that secondary owners of the affected cars shouldn’t be included because it isn’t clear whether fuel economy ratings figured into their used-car purchase decision.

In their appeal of that ruling, Hyundai and Kia say the decision confuses the class-action mechanism and creates a procedural quagmire.