Amazon Letter on Marketplace Liability Helps Case, Family Says

A recent letter from Amazon.com Inc. to a California lawmaker “shows that even Amazon now agrees that all stores in California—including online marketplaces such as itself—should be subject to strict liability for defective products sold by third-party sellers,” a family told the Ninth Circuit.

David and Kim Carpenter, their child, and a family trust said Wednesday that the appeals court should take judicial notice of the letter in weighing whether to reinstate their suit over a house fire. They blame a hoverboard purchased on Amazon’s web marketplace for the fire, in which they allegedly lost their home and two dogs. ...