Oberdorf v. Amazon.Com, Inc.
Oberdorf v. Amazon.Com, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Defendant Amazon.com, Inc., moved for summary judgment against Plaintiffs Heather and Michael Oberdorf. For the reasons that follow, that motion is granted.
I. BACKGROUND
A. The Accident
On January 12, 2015, while walking her dog, Heather Oberdorf suffered severe and permanent injuries to her left eye when the retractable leash she was using suddenly malfunctioned, snapping backwards and hitting her violently in the face.
B. The Amazon Marketplace
Amazon.com is a well-known online retailer. In addition to selling a variety of goods directly to consumers, it also serves as a vehicle through which third parties *498may independently offer products for sale.
Amazon does, however, maintain some control over the Amazon Marketplace sales process. It serves as the conduit through which payment flows, collecting money from purchasers and directing it to third-party vendors after deducting a fee.
C. The Furry Gang
Ms. Oberdorf purchased the retractable leash in question on the Amazon Marketplace on December 2, 2014, from a third-party vendor identified as "The Furry Gang." Following the accident, Plaintiffs have apparently been unable to make contact with The Furry Gang or with the manufacturer of the retractable leash.
D. Procedural History
The Oberdorfs initiated this suit against Amazon on June 13, 2016.
Amazon moved for summary judgment on June 30, 2017.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
Summary judgment is granted when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
B. Whether Amazon is a "Seller" Under Pennsylvania's Strict Products Liability Law
Pennsylvania has adopted § 402A of the Second Restatement of Torts, which states that:
(1) One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property if
(a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and
(b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without *500substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.
(2) The rule stated in Subsection (1) applies although
(a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product, and
(b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.30
This provision creates a strict products liability regime, whereby a plaintiff may recover against a defendant if he can prove, inter alia , that a product was defectively designed or manufactured, or came with an insufficient warning of its dangers.
Although the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has defined "seller" under § 402A expansively,
The Court went on to note that the auction under consideration was a "means of marketing," while "[t]he fact of marketing was the act of the seller who chose the products and exposed them for sale by means of that auction."
The auction company merely provided a market as the agent of the seller. It had no role in the selection of the goods to be sold, in relation to which its momentary control was merely fortuitous and not undertaken specifically. Selection of the products bought was accomplished by the bidders, on their own initiative and without warranties by the auction company.... [T]he auctioneer is not equipped to pass upon the quality of the *501myriad of products he is called upon to auction and with which his contact is impromptu. Nor does he have direct impact upon the manufacture of the products he exposes to bids, such as would result from continuous relationships with their producers and which would be expected to provide him with influence over the latter in acting to make products safer."38
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not ruled on whether an online sales listing service like Amazon Marketplace qualifies as a "seller" under § 402A; it is this Court's job, therefore, to predict how that Court would rule on the question.
The Amazon Marketplace serves as a sort of newspaper classified ad section, connecting potential consumers with eager sellers in an efficient, modern, streamlined manner. Because subjecting it to strict liability would not further the purposes of § 402A, as revealed by Musser and other Pennsylvania cases, it cannot be liable to the Oberdorfs under a strict products liability theory. Therefore, summary judgment will be granted in favor of Amazon on Counts I and II of the Oberdorfs' Complaint.
C. Whether the Oberdorfs Have Abandoned Their Misrepresentation and Breach of Warranty Claims
In the Motion for Summary Judgment and accompanying brief,
*502D. Whether the Communications Decency Act Bars the Oberdorfs' Negligence and Negligent Undertaking Claims
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ("CDA")
Courts have interpreted § 230 expansively, noting that the immunity provided by that section "does not depend on the form of the asserted cause of action[, but] rather ... on whether the cause of action necessarily requires that the defendant be treated as the publisher or speaker of content provided by another."
Since the Oberdorfs' claims for strict products liability, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty have all been disposed of supra , this Court need only consider Amazon's CDA argument with respect to the Oberdorfs' negligence and negligent undertaking claims.
E. Whether There is a Viable Underlying Claim to Support a Claim of Loss of Consortium
Under Pennsylvania law, "[a]ny action for loss of consortium is derivative, depending for its viability upon the substantive merit of the injured party's claims."
III. CONCLUSION
Although Mrs. Oberdorf's accident and subsequent injury are catastrophic, and have resulted in life-long consequences, this Court has the power only to interpret and apply the law, and not to create new bases for liability. Therefore, for the reasons discussed above, Amazon's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted.
An appropriate Order follows.
The facts in this section are undisputed, and all inferences have been drawn in favor of the Oberdorfs. See Standard of Review, infra § II.A.
ECF No. 47 Ex. A (Expert Report of Brian O'Donel) at 2.
ECF No. 31 (Affidavit of Nicholas Denissen) ¶ 5.
Id. ¶ 7.
Id. ¶ 10-11.
Id. ¶ 15.
Id. ¶ 10.
ECF No. 41, Ex. 4 at 16. Amazon can also withhold payments to third-party vendors for returns and claim disputes. Id. at 15.
Id. at 22-23.
Id. at 25.
Id. at 34-41.
ECF No. 40, Ex. 4 (Affidavit of David Samar).
ECF No. 1.
Id. ¶ 24.
Id. ¶ 35.
Id. ¶ 47.
Id. ¶ 54.
Id. ¶ 60-61.
Id. ¶ 65.
Id. ¶ 76.
ECF No. 29.
ECF No. 43.
ECF No. 45.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a).
Lichtenstein v. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ,
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c)(1) ; Liberty Lobby ,
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp. ,
Webb v. Zern ,
Pavlik v. Lane Ltd./Tobacco Exporters Inter. ,
See, e.g. , Francioni v. Gibsonia Truck Corp. ,
See, e.g. , Nath v. National Equipment Leasing Corp. ,
Berrier v. Simplicity Mfg., Inc. ,
ECF Nos. 29 and 36.
ECF No. 43. The closest the Oberdorfs come to addressing Amazon's arguments on these claims is in a single paragraph of their Response to Amazon's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts, ECF No. 40. There, in response to Amazon's assertion that Ms. Oberdorf "admits she does not recall any misrepresentation made to her by Amazon, or anyone else, regarding the collar," ECF No. 30 ¶ 18, the Oberdorfs simply assert-without offering any factual or legal support or analysis-that "any seller such as Amazon impliedly represents that the products they are putting into the stream of commerce are safe for their intended use," ECF No. 40 ¶ 18.
Bowser v. Bogdanovic ,
Jane Doe No. 1 v. Backpage.com LLC ,
The loss of consortium claim is discussed infra.
The Complaint's first Count III alleges that Amazon was negligent in "distributing, inspecting, marketing, selling, and testing" of the leash. ECF No. 1 ¶ 47. The Complaint's second Count III alleges that Amazon was negligent by, inter alia , "providing a product with a dangerous condition ... [f]ailing to conduct a proper hazard[ ] analysis ... fail[ing] to follow the guidelines of the safety hierarchy ... [and] failing to provide the products with ... warnings that would have made it safer." Id. ¶ 54.
For example, the Oberdorfs argue in their Opposition to Amazon's Motion for Summary Judgment that "Amazon played a direct role in the tortious conduct through its involvement in the actual sale and distribution of the defective product. Specifically, Amazon constructed the solicitation or advertisement that Mrs. Oberdorf saw and based her decision to purchase the collar on[,] ... collected the funds from Mrs. Oberdorf, retained its fee, and forwarded the remaining funds to the Furry Gang." ECF No. 43 at 16.
Had this Court not already decided that summary judgment should be granted in favor of Amazon on the Oberdorfs' strict products liability claims, it would hold that § 230 of CDA bars those claims as well, since those claims attempt to hold Amazon liable purely because of its role in marketing the leash-i.e. , because of its role "as the publisher or speaker" of the product information provided to Amazon by The Furry Gang.
Schroeder v. Ear, Nose, and Throat Associates of Lehigh Valley, Inc. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Heather R. OBERDORF, Michael A. Oberdorf v. AMAZON.COM, INC.
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published