Amazon Sued After Hoverboard Fire Burns Down Family's House

A Tennessee family is suing Amazon after their $1 million house was destroyed in a fire caused by a "hoverboard" toy purchased on the site.

According to The Tennessean, the Fox family of Nashville claims that Amazon knew the hoverboard in question was a dangerous product, but sold it anyway. In January, the hoverboard caught fire, destroying all of the family's home and all their personal possessions. The father, Brian Fox, rescued two of his children from the blaze.

"The Foxes contend that Amazon and its various subsidiaries had information about the danger of this product well in advance of the January 9 fire, and on top of that, they had notice, they should have known the product was being misrepresented on their website," Steve Anderson, of the Nashville law firm Anderson & Reynolds PLC, told The Tennessean.

The lawsuit claims the hoverboard's seller — listed online as "W-Deals" — is a scam organization. The family reportedly believed they were buying a product with a Samsung lithium ion battery, but what they received was a counterfeit product from China.

The family's lawyers tried contacting W-Deals to no avail, so now they're turning to Amazon, citing Tennessee product liability law, which holds the seller responsible if the manufacturer can't be found. The suit seeks $30 million in damages.

Amazon declined to comment when contacted by PCMag, saying "we do not comment on litigation."

Amazon late last year pulled a number of hoverboards from its site, including devices from Hoverboard, PhunkeeDuck, CoolReall, Leray, and Swagway. That came after the UK's consumer protection agency reported that more than 15,000 hoverboards were detained at the border based on issues with the plug, cabling, charger, battery, or cut-off switch.

This July, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 500,000 hoverboards sold by 10 different companies are being recalled over fire risks. W-Deals was not one of the companies mentioned at that time.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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