Amazon Loses Hoverboard Injury Appeal in California

Amazon.com LLC can potentially be held liable under California law for burn injuries caused by an allegedly defective hoverboard that it didn’t store, handle, or ship, an appeals court in the state ruled.

Amazon’s actions related to the Smart Balance Wheel hoverboard “are consistent with a retailer or a distributor of consumer goods,” the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, said Monday. It is “a link in the vertical chain of distribution,” the court said. The panel reversed the trial court and reinstated the suit.

And under an alternative theory for liability under California law, no “precise legal relationship” ...