Amazon Contests Injury Liability as California Weighs Bill

Amazon.com Inc. is expected to tell a California appeals court Tuesday that a woman injured in a laptop battery fire can’t hold the company liable under state law for defective products sold on its marketplace.

Oral argument is scheduled in Angela Bolger’s suit before the San Diego-based California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One.

But the state appeals court isn’t the only forum in California weighing Amazon’s potential product-related liability under state law.

In Sacramento, state lawmakers are considering legislation that would treat Amazon and other “electronic retail marketplaces” like retailers for purposes of California strict liability law. The ...