- A Pennsylvania judge fined Hyundai $9.8M over destroyed cars.
- Crushed vehicles were key evidence in the dealer dispute.
- The lawsuit between the automaker and two dealers continues.
Automakers crush cars all the time. Vehicles that are badly damaged, defective, or otherwise impossible to sell often end their lives in a crusher once they’re written off. Sometimes, even rare concepts or special performance cars end up there. But doing that while those same cars are part of an ongoing lawsuit? That’s a very different story.
Read: California Lawsuit Wants To Ban Hyundai And Kia Sales Over Child Labor Allegations
A Pennsylvania court has ordered Hyundai Motor America to pay $9.8 million in sanctions after ruling the company destroyed vehicles that were key evidence in a dispute with two dealerships. According to the lawsuit, the judge found Hyundai “consciously” allowed the cars to be crushed despite knowing they were part of active litigation.
How The Dispute Began
All of this stems from the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and focuses on Hyundai’s dealer vehicle repurchase program. Under that program, dealers can receive reimbursement from the automaker when vehicles become unsellable due to defects, damage, or other unique issues.
Hyundai alleged the two dealerships intentionally damaged certain vehicles so they could submit them for reimbursement. The dealers denied the accusations and challenged Hyundai’s claims in court. Then, things took a turn.
During the lawsuit, the dealerships argued that Hyundai destroyed the vehicles at the center of the dispute before independent experts could inspect them. Without access to the cars themselves, the dealers said they were unable to evaluate Hyundai’s claims or conduct their own analysis of the damage. The judge obviously agreed.
The $9.8 M Ruling And The Future
According to the courts, Hyundai committed spoliation, which is destroying or failing to preserve relative evidence. Obviously, that can undermine a case. As the judge saw it, Hyundai prevented the dealers from gathering their own evidence from the cars in question. As a result, he slapped the automaker with a $9.8 million sanction.
Interestingly, none of this has stopped the case itself from continuing. While Hyundai could appeal the sanction, it’ll have to continue to prove its case without the evidence that it destroyed.
