Gallegos

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL SETTING

On July 11, 2008, Gallegos, an employee of defendant Kia Motors America, Inc. (Kia), took advantage of a benefit offered by Kia and leased a Kia automobile from her employer. The monthly lease payments were thereafter deducted from Gallegos’s paycheck. The lease contained the following provision concerning insurance coverage: “[Kia] will maintain comprehensive, collision, liability, uninsured motorist and medical insurance. . . .” The lease does not, however, state the amount of insurance

2 to be maintained on the vehicle. In her deposition testimony, Gallegos admitted she had no idea what amount of insurance the lease provided. There was evidence Kia provided $1million uninsured motorist insurance on vehicles it leased to its employees in other states, but in 2005, Kia started a policy of rejecting uninsured motorist insurance in those states permitting such a waiver, including California. Almost 11 months before Gallegos and Kia entered into the lease agreement, Kia informed its insurance company that Kia rejected uninsured motorist coverage in California. Approximately two months after leasing the automobile, plaintiffs were involved in a traffic…