Oberdorf v. Amazon.com Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
930 F.3d 136 (3d Cir. 2019)
Heather Oberdorf (plaintiff) bought a dog collar through Amazon's Marketplace from third-party vendor The Furry Gang, and when her dog lunged while leashed, the collar's d-ring broke and the recoiling leash blinded her in one eye; neither Oberdorf nor Amazon could locate The Furry Gang afterward. Amazon (defendant) requires Marketplace vendors to indemnify it and provide product warnings and retains the right to reject vendors, but customers cannot communicate directly with vendors; the trial court granted Amazon summary judgment, finding it was not a "seller" under Pennsylvania products-liability law and that the Communications Decency Act (CDA) barred the claims as based on third-party content.
Whether an online marketplace operator that can reject vendors, requires vendor indemnification, and enables vendors to evade accountability qualifies as a strictly liable "seller" for defective products under state products-liability law.