From Laura: “My vehicle was stolen from West Seattle on Henderson St. last night 1/25, gray 2018 Kia Sportage, license plate BRK6105.” (Here’s a stock photo.) Call 911 if you see it. (As noted by City Attorney Ann Davison, Kias are such a theft target these days, along with Hyundais, she’s suing over it.)
I find it disheartening that Ms. Davidson in suing Kia for car thefts when she is the very one that can prosecute the actual people who steal the cars. Kia’s have the anti-theft device that met government standards at the time (aka a key). Your house has a key and if somebody breaks in, is the lock manufacturer’s fault that the lock wasn’t built to a standard that you didn’t pay for? Pretty soon she is going to sue Amazon for leaving packages unattended which encourages porch piracy. SMH.
To be clear, Ann Davison’s office doesn’t prosecute auto theft, which is a felony (as are related charges “possession of a stolen vehicle” and “taking a motor vehicle without permission”). That’s the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (Leesa Manion), which filed, for example, 86 stolen-vehicle-related cases in December.
https://kcprosecutor.medium.com/charges-filed-by-kcpao-in-december-2022-61c6f81dd74e
Sorry WSB, my bad. Given the lack of jail time for car thieves and the casual treatment of car theft by official parties (insurance and police were sympathetic but I was just one of many), I thought car theft was barely a misdemeanor.
City Attorney should try something! and may end up banding together with other jurisdictions for a class action lawsuit. Isn’t it called consumer protection? I tried to get WA State AG’s office to do something about Wells Fargo opening bank accounts without a person’s knowledge & was told that is a federal crime/issue, they brushed it off. But then the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo!
The fact that a key is not required to start & steal a car is absolutely the manufacturer’s fault, especially when a fix is completely possible. To use your analogy, if you bought a lock for your house and then found out someone could get in without needing a key, just by pressing on the lock mechanism, would you say, “I’ll buy the exact same lock from the same manufacturer again!” That would be no better than leaving your door wide open in the first place. A key is worthless if it’s not required for use.
Kia’s may have had an anti-theft device that was standard for the time (2018) of manufacture but it was woefully inadequate as this was the same anti-theft device that was standard equipment for cars built in the 1940’s and even earlier. MINIs, BMWs, Volkswagens and many others have had immobilizer style anti-theft systems since the early 2000’s and there is no reason that nearly 20 years later the Kia and Hyundai lines of vehicles couldn’t have the same type of systems in them. The company and the people who bought their vehicles are paying dearly for being the “low price leader” when it comes to vehicles. These vehicles seem even easier to start when stolen than the ones that can be started with a shaved key or a screwdriver, meaning that the Hyundai/Kia line is getting easier to start and steal than other makes.Good on Ms. Davidson for taking Kia/Hyundai to court over this. Cars this easy to steal are a danger to the community.
The cars are not the danger to the community, it is people who steal them.
Another hit for Kia and Hyundai owners. My insurance agent said that insurance companies are raising rates on these cars as there’s so many theft/damage from claims.
Suing automobile manufacturers is part of the job? I don’t recall seeing that in the job description. I could see Bob Ferguson doing a stunt like this but a city attorney?
Sorry, comment time is over.
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