Since Torts 101, we learned the general products liability rule that everyone in the “chain of distribution,” which can include the designer, manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, suppliers and distributors, could potentially be held liable for a defective product. In fact, most litigators take for granted that a brick and mortar retailer, like Home Depot, Walmart or PetSmart, could be dragged into a lawsuit, in place of a foreign manufacturer for simply selling the product from its store.

In fact, since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted Section 402A of the Second Restatement of Torts in 1966 in Webb v. Zern, 220 A.2d 853, 854 (1966), the law of the commonwealth (and in most jurisdictions) has been: “One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold … Subsection (1) applies although the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product, and the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.” Further, the word “seller” has been expansively defined by our courts, Oberdorf v. Amazon.com, 295 F. Supp. 3d 496, 500 (M.D. Pa. 2017); which has allowed plaintiffs to reach most manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers and bring them in 402A defendants despite their lack of involvement in the manufacturing of the product at issue.

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