I never like hearing these stories. Back in December 2004 toddler Wade Kilner was killed when his parent’s house was engulfed in flames. In December 2006 the family filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart (where the Kilner’s purchased the machine from) and Microsoft claiming that the cords of an overheated Xbox 360 started the fire that ultimately killed their son.

“The fire was a direct and proximate result of the overheating of the game’s power supply and wiring,” states the lawsuit, filed in state Circuit Court, Illinois. Last week Wal-Mart filed a procedural motion to move the case to the US District Court, also in Illinois. Now… here’s the kicker. While the lawsuit claims that an Xbox 360 started the fire, the 360 wasn’t actually released worldwide until November 2005 – so maybe the parents or a paralegal mistook an Xbox for a 360? You may remember hearing that in February 2005 Microsoft recalled 14 million Xbox power cords, citing “fire concerns.” The prosecution will be eating that up.

Microsoft commented on the lawsuit, in an email: “Microsoft recently learned about this tragic incident that occurred in December 2004. 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 product was unavailable for purchase at that time.”

I can see how Microsoft may (possibly) be to blame, but suing Wal-Mart? They’re only distributing the item, they didn’t manufacture it. Unless every single Xbox stocked around the world was issued with instructions to warn consumers that they might overheat (which they weren’t), Wal-Mart aren’t to blame. How were they to know that it might cause any damage?

I’d also like to know whether it has been determined if the fire was started by the Xbox, and the parents simply aren’t blinded by grief.

What do you guys think? Do the Kilner’s have a case?

- Aaron Kleemann.