— A Kia Carnival sliding door lawsuit alleges problems with the doors were not repaired through a recall of the Carnivals.
The class action asserts even though the Kia Carnivals were recalled over the sliding doors, every minivan in the country is supposedly worth less because they were recalled.
But Kia argues the plaintiffs don't have a case about 2022-2023 Kia Carnival minivans and the entire lawsuit should be thrown out.
Plaintiffs Rachel and Andrew Langerhans bought a new 2022 Kia Carnival SX in November 2021, but within a few months they noticed the sliding doors were not reacting to obstacles or people when closing.
The Kia Carnival sliding door class action was not filed until after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation, Kia recalled the minivans, and NHTSA closed its investigation based on the recall repairs.
The plaintiffs say they took their Carnival to a dealership due to the sliding door recall and told technicians about concerns with the sliding door pinch sensors. The dealer inspected the sensors and didn't find any problems.
Motion to Dismiss the Kia Carnival Sliding Door Lawsuit
The Carnival sliding door class action alleges the plaintiffs believe the recall did not provide an adequate or lasting repair since it did not affect the amount of force required to activate the pinch sensor. But Kia argues the plaintiffs do not claim they or their children suffered any personal injuries from the Carnival sliding doors.
"Rather, they 'have concerns' about the possibility of the doors closing on them or their children." — Kia
The plaintiffs also have never experienced a problem with the sliding doors since the Carnival recall, but still paid $405 to file the class action lawsuit for more than $5 million. Kia argues the plaintiffs want the judge to deal in "hypotheticals.”
Kia says the court should not rule on claims when there is no evidence the recall repairs were ineffective.
Even though the plaintiffs complain the sliding door recall repairs failed to repair their minivan, Kia points out how the plaintiffs never claim they returned to a dealership after the recall repairs were performed.
According to Kia, "unless and until the defect persists in Plaintiffs’ vehicle post-recall—or at the very least, until Plaintiffs can plausibly allege facts demonstrating why the recall is ineffective—any dispute about the recall is speculative."
"Plaintiffs do not allege they are currently experiencing any problems with their vehicle, so it is unclear what damages they currently have that must be remedied by this lawsuit." — Kia's motion to dismiss
According to the owners who sued, Kia knew the Carnival sliding doors were defective and dangerous before Kia sold the minivans. This means Kia supposedly sold the vehicles to family members, employees and consumers even though the automaker knew the sliding doors were defective and could injure people, including children.
And even though federal safety regulators closed their Carnival sliding door investigation based on Kia's recall, the lawsuit still claims the minivans are defective.
In addition to the motion to dismiss the sliding door lawsuit, Kia alleges the class action should not be in court because the plaintiffs signed a binding arbitration agreement when they purchased their Carnival minivan.
The Kia Carnival sliding door class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland: Langerhans v. Kia Corporation, et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, and Levin Sedran & Berman.