Exploding Hoverboard Company Tries To Dodge Liability To The Purchasers Of Its Recalled Hoverboards
Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP Represents Purchasers of Exploding Hoverboards in Lawsuit Against Manufacturer
RYE BROOK, N.Y., May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Swagway, LLC, founded and owned by Jianqing "Johnny" Zhu, imported from China approximately 245,000 model X1 Hoverboards. From September 2015 through January 2016, the company sold its X1 model hoverboards across the United States – with a counterfeit safety certification that falsely indicated that the hoverboard's electric systems had been certified by UL, the world's largest and best-known, independent body for safety testing. After these hoverboards began exploding and catching fire, the hoverboards were recalled at the direction of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission because of the danger they posed. Purchasers were told not to use them. Swagway did not offer purchasers refunds.
A class action was brought against Swagway seeking to recover the approximately $400 that consumers paid for these dangerous and now-unusable hoverboards. Facing the lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana where his companies are based, Mr. Zhu ceased the operations of Swagway and created a new entity to do business as Swagtron. In addition, Zhu has transferred ownership of the Swagway and Swagtron trade names to a company he owns and controls.
"Swagway was caught red-handed putting hundreds of thousands of Americans in danger, and to this day it and Zhu are trying to dodge any and all responsibility," said Jeffrey Klafter, attorney for the plaintiffs and partner of the law firm Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP. "Zhu is playing a shell game, going to great lengths to avoid having to pay a dime, but we are confident that he won't be able to escape justice."
In mid-June, the plaintiff in the suit will ask a federal judge to certify the action as a class action on behalf all of the purchasers of the recalled X1 Swagway Hoverboards. The plaintiff stepped forward after the hoverboard he bought for his daughter as a present exploded the first time it was being charged, causing a fire and damage to his house. The lawyers handling the case are hoping to hear from Swagway X1 purchasers who might be interested in seeing that Swagway and Zhu are held responsible for their fraud on the American people. Individuals who purchased a Swagway X1 Hoverboard and who would like more information about the lawsuit or who are interested in joining the lawsuit should contact Jeffrey Klafter of the law firm Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP at (914) 934-9200 or www.klafterolsen.com
The case is Brown v. Swagway, LLC, Case No. 3:15-cv-00588-JED-MGG (N.D. Indiana)
About Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP
Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP is a leading, national plaintiffs firm that engages in complex individual, class and collective actions nationwide. With offices in New York and Washington, D.C., the firm boasts experience in consumer, securities, employment, commercial, privacy, and mass torts litigation. More information about the firm is available at www.klafterolsen.com.
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SOURCE Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP
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