The U.S. government sued Hyundai and Kia’s American financing arm on Wednesday. They said the company repossessed cars leased by military service members without getting court permission, which is against the law.
Between 2015 and 2023, Hyundai Capital America took back 26 cars from people who were paying off their loans before they went on active duty. The government thinks this is unfair to service members.
For example, they mentioned Navy Airman Jessica Johnson. In 2017, they took her three-year-old Hyundai Elantra because she was on active duty, but not deployed. She still owed $13,796 on the car.
The government says Hyundai Capital America realized in 2020 that they shouldn’t have taken the car.
Hyundai Capital America, which is in Irvine, California, and the car companies didn’t say anything right away.
The lawsuit wants to stop them from taking cars unfairly and says it’s an important issue. In the past, the government settled similar cases with other finance companies like General Motors, Nissan, and Wells Fargo.
