When a toy sold by a third-party seller on Amazon turns out to be dangerous, who has to recall it: the seller, or Amazon? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says Amazon can be held responsible, and Amazon is challenging that in federal court. As of Nov. 2, 2026, the judge has not ruled. Here is where the case stands, based on the court record and CPSC's own announcements. This article describes each side's arguments and is not legal advice.
Why It Matters This Week
CPSC's Oct. 29 batch shows how often this question comes up. Of the 12 child-safety recalls and warnings from that batch in our Toy Recall & Safety Watch for Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, CPSC lists Amazon.com as a place of sale for 11. In several cases there's no recall at all: for example, CPSC says the seller of about 101,282 CHE-US magnetic robot stick figures, sold on Amazon.com for about $9, "has not agreed to an acceptable recall," so the agency could only warn consumers to stop using and throw away the toys. Whether CPSC can make the marketplace itself notify buyers and pay refunds in cases like that is what Amazon.com, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission is about.
What CPSC Decided
On July 29, 2024, the commissioners unanimously found that Amazon is a "distributor" under the Consumer Product Safety Act for products sold by third-party sellers through Fulfilled by Amazon. The decision covered more than 400,000 hazardous products, including faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hair dryers without electrocution protection and children's sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards, CPSC said.
In January 2025, CPSC issued its Final Order. According to CPSC, it requires Amazon to post recall announcements on Amazon.com; notify original buyers directly by email and on their "Your Orders" page; send one round of notice to the Fulfilled by Amazon sellers; give full refunds to buyers who show they destroyed the product; keep the recall announcements up for five years; and file monthly progress reports for five years.
Source: CPSC
Amazon's Lawsuit
Amazon sued CPSC on March 14, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Case No. 8:25-cv-00853-LKG, before Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby), asking the court to review the order under the Administrative Procedure Act. Both sides have asked the judge to decide the case on the written record: Amazon moved for summary judgment on Aug. 20, 2025, and CPSC filed a cross-motion on Oct. 1, 2025. Amazon filed its final brief on Nov. 5, 2025. CPSC's reply was filed Aug. 19, 2026, and a joint record followed on Aug. 28, 2026.
In an Oct. 2, 2026 filing, Amazon says CPSC's March 16, 2026 decision to drop a separate case against Leachco, maker of an infant lounger, "bolsters Amazon's argument that the Final Order is arbitrary and capricious." Amazon says that in Leachco, CPSC found that four years since the last sale limited what a notice-and-refund remedy could do, while the products in Amazon's case were also last sold on Amazon.com in 2021. Amazon also says it already sent two forms of direct notice to every buyer when it stopped selling the products, and that the order relies on speculation about secondhand buyers.
Source: Amazon notice of supplemental authority, ECF No. 50
In an Oct. 9, 2026 response, CPSC says Leachco did "not constitute a determination on the merits" but was an exercise of enforcement discretion. It lists three differences: a new mandatory safety standard for infant support cushions came out during the Leachco case, while the standards here "were in place well before Amazon distributed any of the Subject Products"; Amazon distributed the products from 2018 to 2021, and items like carbon monoxide detectors and hair dryers stay in use far longer than an infant lounger; and "Amazon does not dispute that the Subject Products present such a hazard." CPSC asks the court to grant its cross-motion and deny Amazon's.
Source: CPSC response, ECF No. 51
Where It Stands Now
When we checked the docket on Nov. 2, 2026, the last filing was CPSC's Oct. 9 response. There was no ruling and no hearing date. Both sides' positions are arguments, not findings; the court hasn't decided who is right. Whatever the judge decides, an appeal is possible.
What Parents Can Do Now
For now, check before you buy, whoever the seller is. Look up the product and brand on CPSC.gov and Recalls.gov, and check the seller name on the listing. If CPSC has issued a warning and there's no recall, follow the warning: stop using the product and don't sell or give it away. You can report a dangerous product at SaferProducts.gov.
Source: CourtListener docket
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