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The online retail giant Amazon cannot be held liable for a defective dog leash that partially blinded a woman, a federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled, wading into an unanswered question in Pennsylvania products liability law.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann of the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Thursday predicted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would not consider the online behemoth a “seller” for the purposes of products liability, and granted Amazon's summary judgment motion in Oberdorf v. Amazon.com.

In determining that strict liability should not be applied to Amazon, Brann likened the website to a newspaper, or auction house, which is not expected to vet products in the same way a brick-and-mortar store would.