A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday considered whether to revive claims that Amazon.com negligently sold industrial sodium nitrite, a chemical allegedly used in suicides by two teenagers. The case hinges on whether Washington law imposes a duty on Amazon to prevent the sale or recommendation of products that could foreseeably be misused.
The panel signaled interest in seeking guidance from the Washington Supreme Court, potentially through a similar state-level case, Scott v. Amazon.com Inc., to clarify the state’s duty-to-warn statute before deciding the federal case.
Key Arguments
The families of Kristine Jónsson, 16, and Ethan McCarthy, 17, argue that Amazon facilitated their suicides by selling the highly potent chemical, which lacks common household uses, and by using an algorithm to recommend complementary products.
Philip A. Talmadge, representing the families, asserted that Amazon knowingly sold a dangerous product and ignored warnings from Congress, media investigations, and foreign bans. “They continued to sell this,” Talmadge said, emphasizing that Amazon had knowledge of the misuse dating back to 2018.
