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The Third Circuit Court heard arguments in a an Amazon lawsuit which may determine if the reseller will be responsible for selling defective products.
Plaintiff Heather Oberdorf sued Amazon after she was allegedly injured using a retractable leash attached to a dog collar she purchased on Amazon from a seller known as The Furry Gang and/or Dogaholics.
Oberdorf and her husband say they sued Amazon when they could not find contact information for the dog collar seller.
The plaintiff claims that she was walking her dog in Pennsylvania in January 2015 with her dog wearing the dog collar she purchased through Amazon.
The Amazon lawsuit states that when the dog reached the end of the leash, the product failed by “bending/spreading open,” separated from the collar and flew back, striking Oberdorf’s eyeglasses and causing severe and permanent damage to her face and left eye.
The plaintiff reportedly has suffered emotional injury, physical injury and financial loss including the loss of past and future earnings.
“Defendant is liable to Plaintiff Heather R. Oberdorf because it failed to provide adequate warnings regarding the use of the subject dog collar, causing it to be unreasonably dangerous to the intended user at the time it left the defendant’s possession.”
In December 2018, a federal district court judge ruled that Amazon did not reach the definition of “seller” under Pennsylvania’s Strict Products Liability Law and granted the company’s motion for summary judgment.
However, according to an article on CNN, a court of appeals opinion in 2019 ruled that Amazon was a “seller” under Pennsylvania law and should face product liability charges.
The court stated that it looked at numerous factors, including whether Amazon was the only party the plaintiffs could locate to sue, as well as taking a look at the legal terms that Amazon signs with third party vendors.
“Defendant Amazon promoted, distributed, sold or otherwise placed into the stream of commerce the dog collar purchased by the plaintiff,” the Amazon lawsuit states.
According to the CNN article, “the company claims its listings are protected by the Communications Decency Act, which states that online platforms cannot be treated as the publisher of information provided by a third party on their sites.”
The lawsuit states the dog collar was defectively designed, which caused it to be dangerous at the time it left the possession of Amazon.
Oberdorf notes if a proper hazard analysis had been performed, the design defect of the dog leash would have been evident.
In addition, the plaintiff argues that at least one alternative design for the dog collar was available to the defendant at all times.
“As a direct and proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective condition of the D-Ring on the subject dog collar…the plaintiff suffered severe and permanent injuries,” the Amazon lawsuit argues.
Did you purchase a product from Amazon that turned out to be defective? Let us know in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by David F. Wilk of Lepley Engelman Yaw & Wilk LLC.
The Amazon Dog Leash Lawsuit is Heather Oberdorf, et al. v. Amazon Inc., Case No. 18-1041, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
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120 thoughts onIs Amazon Responsible For Selling Defective Items? Court To Decide
Please add me I purchased a hands free dog leash and suffered an injury to my head , concussion and more injuries and stayed in the hospital as well do to this accident.
Please add me
Please add me!! We purchased a ring/vibrate/shock collar for our 11 mo old puppy. We liked what the advertise/seller said about the vibration/ring of the collar. Plus all the reviews were pretty good. After we made a positive review and the 30 days passed, the collar became defective. It would shock the dog without the use of the remote. One time it shocked him so bad, we took him to the vet to have him checked. We contacted to seller who or course was in China, and said I would have to ship the product to them.
This is not the first time Amazon sellers misrepresent the shelves. Most of all the sellers are from outside of the U.S. also, the seller I was dealing with, took the product off of Amazon to relish it under a different name!!
please add me
Add me, I’ve purchased beauty serums that arrived in a defective state and I was unable to return them.
please add me to the list
Dell Workstation that stopped working after 31 days.
We purchased a refrigerator filter from Amazon, through a third party seller. The filter said GE and has GE’s website, phone number and address on the filter boxes. As I discovered, the filter is NOT a GE filter (the box says GE and drink up). My family went out of town August 1st-4th and while we were gone the filter, (which had been replaced 2 months prior) cracked and flooded my house. I have insurance and they had company test the filter for a defect. They called me back and told me that the product WAS in fact defective, but they were unable to locate the company, as it was based out of China. This whole situation has been an ongoing nightmare and I am hoping, maybe you can lead me in the right direction. This has been a very difficult past few months, as we have three kids who have practically been confined to a bedroom because the flooring had to be removed down to the subfloor. The filter flooded my house so badly, it flooded my basement as well. I have checked on Amazon, and the 3rd party company is still selling products. When I try and click on the link from my purchase history, it says an error occurred. I have saved both the defective filter and the brand new one. Any help or guidance would be SO greatly appreciated.
The last Glow Tub came in an opened package. Please add me.
I’ve purchased 3 Glow Tub underwater (fill your tub with color) 2 died quickly The last simply did not light! I’m furious.
Please add me through the years so many purchases ND ALSO HAD NO CLUE SOME COMING FROM cHINA AND OTHER fORIGN PLACES sORRY CAPS STICK