Last Thursday, February 14, Federal District Court Judge George H. Wu held an initial hearing on class action lawsuits filed against Hyundai and Kia across the country for falsifying gas mileage estimates. The lawsuits were sent to Judge Wu’s court in response to a petition filed by the Consumer Watchdog legal team, whose year long investigation of consumer complaints first exposed the problem, which was later confirmed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The purpose of the hearing was to establish a schedule for the litigation. At the hearing, however, a lawyer in one of the lawsuits against Hyundai announced that he had already reached a settlement with the companies. The Consumer Watchdog legal team asked for more information on this unexpected development. The court granted this request, and ordered that the terms of the settlement be disclosed to all parties by this Thursday, February 21, 2013.   

For more information on the Consumer Watchdog litigation against Hyundai and Kia, visit this page.