Is Amazon Responsible For Selling Defective Items? Court To Decide

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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