ever since that hanfree story [0], Kickstarter has been a bit more explicit about creator obligations [1]. Creators are now told to "make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers" should the project fail or rewards not make it to backers. The terms of use also has an explicit warning about possible legal action at the bottom.
[0] http://www.businessinsider.com/how-one-stupid-mistake-and-35...