Onewheel Lawsuits Face Setback: Judge Dismisses Key Claims

A federal judge has ruled that plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Onewheel manufacturer Future Motion have not sufficiently proven the existence of a defect causing the boards to nosedive, dealing a blow to their case. However, the judge allowed claims of misleading safety statements to proceed.

Consumers Affected: Riders who have experienced nosedives and injuries while using Onewheel electric skateboards.

Reason for Lawsuit: Allegations of a design defect causing unexpected nosedives, leading to injuries, and claims of misleading safety statements by the manufacturer.

Court: The multidistrict litigation (MDL) is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.

Onewheel riders who are in a sweeping multidistrict litigation against the electric skateboard’s manufacturer have been told by a judge they haven’t adequately proven there is a defect that allegedly makes the boards unsafe.

While the decision by the U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman is a blow to the plaintiffs, Freeman rejected attempts by Onewheel manufacturer Future Motion to toss out claims their statements about the electric skateboards were misleading allowing the case to move forward in part. 

The Onewheel riders said the skateboards included a defect that made them randomly nosedive during use, which pose a life or death risk to riders, according to the lawsuit. However, Freeman said the riders didn’t specify what the defect was that caused the boards to nosedive, meaning Future Motion could not adequately defend itself.

“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,” Freeman wrote.

“While the symptoms or consequences of a defect make the existence of a defect possible, a plaintiff must allege more to make the existence of a defect plausible.”

Riders Injured by Unexpected Nosedives, But Defect Remains Unclear

Future Motion has been facing increasing legal scrutiny over the safety of its Onewheel electric skateboards, as the number of product liability class action lawsuits rises. The central complaint among riders is that the Onewheel can unexpectedly shut off during use, causing riders to be ejected from the board.

This has led to various injuries among users, including serious conditions like bone fractures, paralysis, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries. At least three wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the company, asserting that the skateboards are inherently unsafe. 

The plaintiffs in the cases argue that Future Motion failed to warn consumers about the risks attached to the skateboards, despite being aware of a myriad of complaints online, to consumer watchdog groups, and to the company itself.

Recall Issued After Mounting Safety Concerns and Lawsuits

In November 2022, the company received a warning from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the ejection hazard posed by these skateboards, but Future Motion initially resisted recalling the products.

“CPSC urges consumers not to buy the Onewheel [or] use it due to the ejection hazard....CPSC urges consumers NOT to resell or donate the Onewheel, so others are not put in danger by the hazard.”

The company eventually announced a recall of Onewheel skateboards on September 29, 2023, This recall was an acknowledgment of the potential for the skateboards to lose balance if pushed beyond their limits, posing a significant crash hazard.

Future Motion offered a firmware update to mitigate this issue, introducing a warning system to alert riders of approaching board limits or error conditions. The recall led to an increase in customer lawsuits, reaching a point where consolidation into a multidistrict litigation was deemed necessary.

Misleading Safety Claims May Proceed, But Other Allegations Dismissed

Last December, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) decided to centralize all federally filed class action lawsuits concerning the Onewheel skateboard in the Northern District of California and in May, six representative cases were chosen for trial in the OneWheel MDL, focusing on personal injury and wrongful death claims.

Over the past few months, representatives for the plaintiffs and Future Motion have been in settlement negotiations, which will likely continue with this decision—although the plaintiffs will have less ammunition in their chest.

Freeman did allow the plaintiffs’ misleading statements claim to proceed, finding that Future Motion’s advertisement that the Onewheel is so safe that anyone of any age or ability can ride it “is a statement that is quantifiable and may be shown to be provably false.” She also allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint given the latest decision.

Settlement Talks Ongoing, with Future Trials Possible

A series of settlement conferences are scheduled for August and October 2024 to discuss potential resolutions for OneWheel accident lawsuits. If these talks fail to resolve the cases, lawyers will proceed with the six potential bellwether cases to be prepared for early trials in the federal MDL.

Future Motion isn’t alone in facing legal action over its electric active transport product. In March, a mother in Connecticut filed a lawsuit against electric scooter company Lynx City, accusing it of not taking safety into consideration when making the scooters available to all members of the public. She said her children were seriously hurt riding the scooters, and they should have never been accessible to children.

Meanwhile, electric scooter company Segway, which makes the Spin models, was hit with a civil lawsuit in September by the family of a man who allegedly died from injuries he suffered during an accident while riding a Spin scooter. The lawsuit accuses the company of being negligent and reckless, and alleges its actions contributed to the mans’ death.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: In Re: Future Motion Inc. Products Liability Litigation
• Case Number: MDL No. 3087
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division