Vehicle Safety News

A New Jersey jury has handed consumers a $6 million victory in a product liability class action alleging that certain models of Kia Motors America Inc.'s Sephia had defective brakes. The verdict, rendered Friday in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Union County, N.J., came after a month-long trial in which jurors found that a class of New Jersey consumers was entitled to receive $6,029,250 in damages due to a defect design in the brake system of the 1995-2001 Kia Sephia.

The class includes 8,039 New Jersey consumers, according to Donovan Searles LLC, one of the firms representing plaintiffs in the case. The complaint, filed in August 2003, alleged that the brakes on the Kia's Sephia automobiles prematurely wore out or malfunctioned, causing unpredictable and violent brake pedal pressures and loss of control.

"The brake system defect causes brake pads and rotors to excessively wear, squeal and groan, requiring constant repair attempts and replacement," according to the complaint. "As a result, purchasers and lessees of defendant's Sephia are at serious risk of sudden, unexpected, and dangerous occurrences, including but not limited to being unable to stop the vehicles in a safe and reliable manner." The complaint further claimed that Kia violated the express and implied warranties that were given with the Sephias by failing to extend warranty coverage for needed repairs and by charging consumers for repairs and replacements necessitated by the defect.