An insurer paid a Wisconsin fire claim - now it says Amazon should cover the loss.
American Family Insurance Company is suing Amazon.com in federal court, trying to recover money it paid out after a house fire it blames on a battery bought through the online marketplace.
In a complaint filed July 7, 2026, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the carrier says a homeowner bought a brand of electric heated socks and gloves through Amazon in October 2021. On June 25, 2023, the filing says, a battery pouch that came with the order "spontaneously combusted" and caused a fire at the homeowner's West Bend house.
American Family had insured the homeowner. It says it paid the claim, less the deductible, then stepped into the customer's shoes to pursue whoever was responsible - a common insurer move known as subrogation. The filing puts the fire damage to the home and belongings at more than $75,000.
American Family did not sue the battery's maker. The complaint says that manufacturer is "foreign to the United States with no presence in the United States," is not subject to being served in the state, and that the insurer would be "unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer or its insurer." So it turned to Amazon instead.
The insurer brings a single product-liability claim. It alleges Amazon "was in the chain of commerce of the battery pouch," and that the pouch had a "manufacturing defect" and was "in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous" when used as expected. That defect, it says, caused the fire.
The case poses a question that matters to claims teams: when a product bought through a marketplace allegedly fails and the overseas maker is out of reach, can the platform answer as a seller? That is what American Family is arguing. It is seeking damages in an amount to be determined, plus interest, costs and fees.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and no court has ruled.
