Explanation
Background:
The purpose of this ordinance is to approve the settlement in and allow for the receipt of settlement funds from the City of Columbus’s litigation against Kia America, Inc. and Hyundai Motor America (“Kia and Hyundai”) now in the Multi-District Kia-Hyundai Vehicle Theft Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (“the MDL”) - IN RE: KIA HYUNDAI VEHICLE THEFT MARKETING, SALES PRACTICES, AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION, Case No. 8:22-ML-3052 (MDL No. 3052), before the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
In accordance with Ordinance 3075-2022, passed November 7, 2022, the City of Columbus, through the Office of the City Attorney, obtained outside special legal counsel to assist the City in pursuing its legal options, including, but not limited to, possible litigation against the vehicle manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, concerning the substantial increase in thefts of the manufacturers’ vehicles in the City.
In February 2023, special counsel filed a complaint on behalf of the City against Kia and Hyundai alleging, among other things, that the vehicle manufacturers created a public nuisance in the City. The City’s case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio as City of Columbus, Ohio v. Kia America, Inc. and Hyundai Motor America, Case No. 2:23-cv-00654 (“the City’s case”). Then, in June 2023, the City’s case was transferred and consolidated into the MDL before the United States District Court for the Central District of California, where it proceeded for pretrial matters, including mediation, with similar cases filed by other governmental entities.
Columbus as well as the other cities involved in the MDL engaged in multiple in-person and remote mediations with Kia and Hyundai, resulting in a global resolution of each City’s individual claims based upon the mediator’s proposal and an accompanying expert allocation among the various governmental...
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