E-commerce has not only drastically changed the way consumers make purchases, but it has also created an entirely new vocabulary for these transactions.

Whereas a customer who walks into a brick-and-mortar store has an understanding that the store is functioning as the product seller, e-commerce platforms complicate these relationships and, when something goes wrong with the product itself, make it all the more difficult to determine who is liable and how that liability attaches. In many states, product liability law has not changed in years and does not account for the shifting realities of the e-commerce age. The flood of recent cases throughout the country, many of which stem from purchases made on Amazon.com, has created confusion among practitioners as they grapple with questions of when an e-commerce platform can be deemed a “seller” for purposes of product liability litigation, and under what circumstances the platform is merely an intermediary that cannot be held liable as a seller for a defective product that causes an injury to a consumer.

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