Michael Brown says that although Swagway had touted its hoverboard as being made with the finest parts on its website and advertisements, the company failed to warn him that its product was actually dangerous and could self-combust, as was the case on the first night he attempted to charge the hoverboard he purchased from Modell’s website for his kids as a Hanukkah present earlier this month, according to Thursday’s complaint.
Likewise, in deciding to market and sell Swagway Hoverboards on its website and within its stores, Modell’s failed to take proper steps to ensure that the product was safe and free from any defects, Brown said.
“In actuality, the Swagway Hoverboard is unsafe for its intended use inasmuch as it is defective and presents a material likelihood that it will self-combust or short-circuit while charging, leading to fire and/other damage,” Brown wrote.
Both the Indiana-based Swagway and the New York-based Modell’s engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices, breached the product’s implied warranty and unjustly enriched themselves by selling a defective product, Brown’s complaint alleged.
Around late November, Brown purchased a Swagway Hoverboard on Modell’s website for roughly $450 as a Chanukah present for his children. Neither of the companies warned him that there was a substantial risk that the board could burst into flames while charging, Brown alleged.
Yet that’s exactly what happened on the Dec. 6, the first night of Hanukkah, according to Brown. That night the board was removed from its box and played with for about 30 minutes before Brown charged its lithium ion battery using an ordinary electrical socket as instructed.
Forty-five minutes later, the board burst into flames, igniting the packaging materials nearby and causing significant damage to the area near the outlet, to the point the fire department had to respond to the scene, Brown said.
In his complaint, Brown said that not only does Swagway promote on its website that it is “very meticulous” in making sure its boards are made with the finest high-quality parts, company representatives in past media interviews have touted the safety and high-caliber components of its product. The product has been featured in a number of high-profile publications such as Wired, and appeared on nationwide television shows such as The Ellen Degeneres Show and Good Morning America.
But Brown’s complaint also cites a number of media reports that have indicated that “self-balancing electric scooters” across the world have been combusting. In November, Buzzfeed reported that a woman in England suffered burns when the hoverboard she was riding caught fire. And just days ago, Newsweek published an article indicating that a family home in Louisiana and Hong Kong burned down because of hoverboard fires, Brown said.
Brown is seeking to represent a class of Swagway hoverboard owners who weren’t warned that their purchases could burst into flames while charging, and he requested injunctive relief and an unspecified amount of compensatory damages.
Representatives for Modell’s and Swagway did not immediately return a request for comment, and counsel information for the companies wasn’t immediately available.
Brown is represented by Irwin B. Levin, Richard E. Shevitz and Vess A. Miller of Cohen & Malad LLP; Seth R. Lesser, Jeffrey A. Klafter, Fran L. Rudich and Michael H. Reed of Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP and Robert N. Kaplan of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP.
The case is Michael Brown v. Swayway LLC et al., case number 3:15-cv-00588, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
--Editing by Rebecca Flanagan.
