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ARTICLE · 29 SEPTEMBER 2020

A Link In The Chain? Developments Regarding E-Commerce Website Liability For Defective Products Sold By Third-Party Vendors

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More than 100 years ago, the New York Court of Appeals issued its now-infamous opinion in MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co., which ushered American courts into a new age of personal injury jurisprudence.

United StatesConsumer Protection
Derek S. Rajavuori
Derek S. Rajavuori
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More than 100 years ago, the New York Court of Appeals issued its now-infamous opinion in MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.,1 which ushered American courts into a new age of personal injury jurisprudence. Writing for the majority, renowned jurist Benjamin Cardozo eliminated the requirement of privity of contract for product-related personal injury actions, effectively allowing a downstream consumer to sue a manufacturer even though the parties had no contractual relationship.2 Over the ensuing century, courts and legislatures expanded, modified, and otherwise molded this concept into what practitioners now refer to as the doctrine of products liability.

Today, when a consumer alleges that she was injured by a defective product, it is possible for her to sue multiple parties in the distribution chain, although the nature and extent of liability will depend heavily on the applicable provisions of state law. Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, for example,

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