#amazon can be held liable for defective third-party products on its platform, court rules

July 3, 2019 | Uncategorized

Amazon can be sued over third-party sales on its platform, a federal court ruled today, setting a potentially damaging precedent for the company.

Appeals court found against Amazon

While Amazon sells goods itself, it also allows vendors to sell their products through its Marketplace platform, taking a cut in the process. In late 2014, a woman named Heather Oberdorf ordered a dog collar from a Marketplace seller, but it broke on a walk, sending the leash flying and permanently blinding her in one eye. The seller hasn’t been found, but Oberdorf sued Amazon, accusing the company of negligence.

A district court in Pennsylvania found that Amazon couldn’t be sued because it wasn’t a “seller” under the law, and because it is protected by…