McMillan v. Amazon.com ( 2021 )

Case: 20-20108 Document: 00515919359 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/29/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 29, 2021
No. 20-20108 Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Morgan McMillan, individually and as next friend of E.G., a minor
child,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Amazon.com, Incorporated,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:18-CV-2242
Before Wiener, Costa, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge:
This interlocutory appeal presents a single, narrow question: May
Amazon be held liable as a “seller” under Texas products-liability law for
third-party products sold on Amazon’s website and handled through
Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon program? We certified this question to the
Supreme Court of Texas “[g]iven the dearth of on-point caselaw and the
significant potential consequences of holding online marketplaces
responsible for third-party sellers’ faulty products.” McMillan v.
Amazon.com, Inc., 983 F.3d 194, 196 (5th Cir. 2020), certified question
Case: 20-20108 Document: 00515919359 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/29/2021
No. 20-20108
answered sub nom. Amazon.com, Inc. v. McMillan, No. 20-0979, 2021 WL
2605885 (Tex. June 25, 2021).
The Supreme Court of Texas has now answered the question, holding
that “potentially liable sellers are limited to those who relinquished title to
the product at some point in the distribution chain.” Amazon.com, Inc. v.
McMillan, No. 20-0979, 2021 WL 2605885, at *1 (Tex. June 25, 2021).
Because third-party sellers do not relinquish title to their products, “Amazon
is not a ‘seller’” of those “products under Texas law.” Id. Accordingly, we
REVERSE the district court’s conclusion that Amazon is a “seller” under
Texas law with instructions to grant Amazon’s motion for summary
judgment in full on remand.
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