Tesla Suit Over Crash in Japan Should Stay in U.S., Family Says

California, not Japan, is the proper location for a wrongful death lawsuit that blames Tesla Inc.'s Autopilot driver-assist system for an accident near Tokyo, the wife and daughter of a victim told the Ninth Circuit.

A federal district court improperly dismissed the case on convenience grounds when it shifted the burden of proof to Yoshihiro Umeda’s family, according to their opening brief to the appeals court, filed Thursday.

The lower court also incorrectly weighed the availability of witnesses and other factors in its decision, they say.

The lower court’s dismissal of the case, over the first alleged Autopilot-related death involving ...