Belle Meade Family Sues Amazon After Home Destroyed in Hoverboard Fire

NASHVILLE, TN — A Belle Meade family is seeking $30 million in a lawsuit against Amazon after a January fire caused by a hoverboard destroyed their home.

According to the suit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court by Brian and Megan Fox, the hoverboard was a 2015 Christmas present for their then-13-year-old son who, on January 9, 2016, was playing with the board in the house and, when he was finished, placed it beside a first-floor couch.

Then board spontaneously combusted, quickly and completely engulfing the home in flames. The son, coincidentally celebrating his 14th birthday, and his 16-year-old sister were in the home, while both parents and two other sisters were out. Father Brian arrived at home first, discovering his house afire and frantically urged both children inside to break through double-paned second-story windows to jump to safety. The boy incurred severe lacerations and nerve damage, while his sister sprained her ankle and also suffered lacerations, which have been subject to several infections, according to the lawsuit. Brian Fox fractured his elbow in two places and also sprained his ankle.

The lawsuit also claims severe psychological harm for the entire family.

The family alleges that the hoverboard sold through Amazon was a cheap Chinese knockoff with a faulty lithium battery, which caused numerous fires in late 2015 and in the weeks following Christmas. Amazon has represented to the family that it is not the manufacturer of the product and is, therefore, not liable for the damage. The lawsuit says that Amazon knew that while its site said the battery in the board was made by Samsung, it was, in fact, not.

The Foxes say the product was represented on Amazon as a "Fiturbo," but the packaging and the manual sent with the board indicated it was a counterfeit.

The family is seeking $30 million in compensatory damages, trebled under the state's consumer protection law, plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages.

Image via urbanwheel.co, used by permission; urbanwheel.co is not the manufacturer or distributor of the board in the lawsuit.