Amazon Basics Coffee Maker Lawsuit Alleges Thermal Protection Defect Sparked House Fire

Lawsuit claims coffee maker’s heating and safety systems failed, triggering a thermal runaway event that ignited the appliance’s plastic housing.

A Wisconsin couple has filed a product liability lawsuit alleging they suffered more than $300,000 in property damage after the thermostat on an Amazon Basics 5-cup Coffee Maker failed and started a house fire.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Mutual of Wausau Insurance Corporation as the subrogee of Nathanael Johnson and Krystle Johnson in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 1, naming Amazon.com Inc. as the sole defendant.

Mutual of Wausau claims the coffee maker was defectively manufactured because its safety components failed to limit or stop heating as intended.

Coffee Maker Injuries

While the Wisconsin lawsuit focuses on an alleged component failure that caused the coffee maker to overheat and ignite, other lawsuits have raised allegations that defective components in residential coffee makers can malfunction in different ways, resulting in severe burn injuries.

Gourmia is facing product defect allegations connected to its coffee makers after a California woman suffered second-degree burns. Her Gourmia single-serve coffee maker allegedly malfunctioned and began spewing scalding water onto her arm.

A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this year claiming a Nostalgia MyMini single-serve coffee maker malfunctioned, causing the coffee pod to explode into a woman’s face and resulting in second- and third-degree burns.

In addition, a Connecticut woman filed a lawsuit in March alleging a single-serve coffee maker sold by Brentwood Appliances suddenly exploded without warning, ejecting hot water onto her body and causing burns.

Amazon Basics Coffee Maker Fire Allegations

According to the complaint, Mutual of Wausau insures the Johnsons’ property in Denmark, Wisconsin. The couple purchased an Amazon Basics 5-cup Coffee Maker with Reusable filter from the online platform in 2023 and used the device consistently. On October 2, 2024, a fire erupted in the Johnson’s home, which allegedly originated in the area of the kitchen where the coffee maker was located.

The fire caused substantial damage to the Johnsons’ property including the home’s structure and personal property contents, requiring remediation, mitigation and rebuilding, as well as temporary relocation of the family.

The lawsuit alleges a laboratory examination determined the coffee maker’s thermostat and thermal protectors failed, which resulted in a thermal runaway condition that ignited the plastic housing of the coffee maker and caused the house fire.

Thermal runaway is a rapid and uncontrolled rise in temperature in electronics equipment that may cause the device to catch fire or explode. Such failures often involve lithium-ion batteries and can happen during charging, ordinary use or while devices are being carried, resulting in severe burns and other injuries. The condition has been known to occur in vaping devices, portable power banks and other household items.

Mutual of Wausau paid the Johnsons $301,936 in compensation for damages to their home. The complaint alleges the Amazon coffee maker was defective, and that the manufacturer did not follow its own design specification, since the thermostat and thermal protector failed to limit or stop warming of the coffee maker’s heating element, as intended. This caused a thermal runaway condition that is unreasonably dangerous for consumers.

The insurance company argues there were safer alternative designs available that would have prevented the fire. It claims those designs, if used, could have reduced the risk of a thermal runaway event.

“The foreseeable risks of harm posed by the design of the Coffee Maker’s heating and thermal-protection system exceeded the utility of that design, and the design was not one that a reasonable consumer would expect when using the Coffee Maker for its intended purpose.”

— Mutual of Wausau Insurance Corporation v. Amazon.com Inc.

The complaint raises allegations of strict products liability—manufacturing defect and strict products liability—design defect. It seeks compensation for damages Mutual of Wasau paid out on behalf of the Johnsons’ insurance policy.

Sign up for more legal news that could affect you or your family.