Amazon Not Invincible After All From Product Liability Cases

Amazon.com Inc. has proved largely invincible to product liability suits involving items sold by others on its “marketplace.” But three recent decisions by federal appeals courts show that its armor is starting to crack.

All three courts revived claims that spotlight Amazon’s own alleged actions, or failure to act, in the face of alleged defects. In two cases, the allegations relate to widely circulated reports of safety problems in hoverboards that arose soon after the mostly Chinese-made electric scooters hit the market in 2015 and resulted in a number of house fires. The latest case involves a dog collar that ...