An Illinois family has filed a lawsuit claiming that an Xbox 360 manufactured by Microsoft and sold by a Wal-Mart overheated and caused a fire which resulted in the death of the family’s infant son.

According to the suit, a faulty Xbox 360 power adapter became so hot that it caused the attached wall outlet to spark causing what turned out to be a catastrophic fire. The victim, an infant named Wade Kline, perished in the fire.

The lawsuit was actually filed back in December 2006 in state Circuit Court in Illinois. Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and an unnamed power-supply maker are named as defendants. But on Wednesday, Wal-Mart filed a procedural motion to move the case from state court to US District Court in Illinois.

The lawsuit claims the fatal fire occurred in December 2004, but the Xbox 360 didn’t launch until May 2005, so the unit involved may actually have been a first-generation Xbox console which was launched in 2001.

The original Xbox did see a plug recall just a few months after this fire.

In February 2005, Microsoft recalled more than 14 million Xbox power cords due to fire concerns. At the time, the company said it had dealt with 30 such instances, with seven resulting in minor burns to users’ hands and the other 23 causing minor property damage.

“Microsoft recently learned about this tragic incident that occurred in December 2004,” a spokesperson with the company said.

“Our sympathy is with the family. However, we are not aware of any evidence that an Xbox caused the fire. Also, the complaint specifically states that an Xbox 360 was involved, but this version of the console was unavailable for purchase at that time.”

The family is asking for damages “in excess of $50,000″.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, May 26th, 2007 at 4:43 am under Legal.

Read more entries by Ruben Francia.
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