ST. LOUIS – Amazon.com has requested to remove a lawsuit brought by a Missouri couple who claim that a battery pack they purchased from a third party on its site caused a fire that burned their detached garage.
Amazon argues in its removal notice that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri has jurisdiction because the damages sought exceed $75,000.
According to Amazon's removal notice filed July 18, Curtis Paul Barkley and Linda Barkley claim Amazon is strictly liable for the damage under the state's products liability law. The Barkleys initially stated in their claim in June 2017 - first filed in Dunklin County Circuit Court and then transferred to Butler County Circuit Court - that their damages were $55,000, but then on June 25 they informed the state court that their damages were actually approximately $89,000, the notice states.
In their lawsuit, the Barkleys claim the Jump Starter Battery Pack damaged their detached garage and its contents and allege Amazon breached the implied warranty of merchantability.
The case had a court date for trial setting on June 25, the notice states, but the attorney for the Barkleys sent an email to the presiding Judge Michael Pritchett that day advising him that plaintiffs' counsel would not be present, and stating in part that "This case is an insurance subrogation case involving a claim of a defective product causing a fire, with damages of approximately $89,000."
"This email was the first information Amazon had that plaintiff’s damages exceeded the $55,040 cited in the petition," the notice states.
Amazon claims its notice of removal has been timely filed within 30 days of plaintiffs' initial pleading. It also claims that complete diversity exists, as plaintiffs are citizens of Missouri, and Amazon is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Seattle, Washington
Amazon is represented by John C. Steffens and John W. Grimm of the Limbaugh Firm in Cape Girardeau.