Amazon Not Liable for Hoverboard Fire, It Tells Ninth Circuit

Amazon.com Inc. told the Ninth Circuit it isn’t liable for a house fire caused by a hoverboard sold on its online marketplace, saying California law shouldn’t be expanded to make Amazon responsible for a product it didn’t manufacture, sell, distribute, or touch.

California product liability law doesn’t apply to service providers like Amazon, the online retail behemoth said in a Dec. 18 brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The case is one in a string of product liability suits against Amazon to reach federal appeals courts.

Argument is set for Feb. 19, 2020, before the ...