Amazon ‘Seller’ Liability Issue Lobbed to State High Court (1)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is in a better position than a federal appeals court to decide whether Amazon.com Inc. is a “seller” subject to liability for defective products in the state, the full Third Circuit said Tuesday in a closely watched injury case.

The court asked the state justices to consider a question about how Pennsylvania law accounts for Amazon’s role in web “marketplace” sales, such as Heather Oberdorf’s purchase of an allegedly defective dog collar from a Chinese company. The collar allegedly left her permanently blind in one eye after it broke.

The judges want the state top court ...