SAN DIEGO (CN) — Plaintiffs claiming the Onewheel has a design problem that can kill riders may advance their claim that the electronic skateboard's manufacturers issued misleading statements about the product's safety, but they failed to state what design flaw caused the board to be so dangerous, a federal judge said in a ruling dismissing most of the class action claims.
The plaintiffs in the case claim that the Onewheel — a self-balancing electric skateboard with a large single wheel in the center of the board — has a “Nosedive defect” where the front of the board unexpectedly slams into the ground while a rider is still on it, causing an abrupt stop, which can throw the rider off the board, causing serious injuries.
A warning from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission about Onewheel urging people to stop using the board said it could even kill riders.
But, a federal judge said that the nosedive defect is a feature of the board, not a defect, dismissing a majority of the claims against Future Motion, the defendant.
“The court agrees with defendant that the propensity of the Onewheel to nosedive is not a defect, but an effect. This is significant because other courts have distinguished between the symptoms or consequences of a defect and the defect itself,” wrote U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman, a Barack Obama appointee, in her
order on Friday.
Plaintiffs in a multi-district consolidated class action say that the Onewheel electric skateboard didn't explain what part of the board caused dangerous nosedives, a judge said.
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If the effect to harm riders is intentional, that should place them at even greater liability.