The Small Claims Court of Frutal – MG issued a decision1 holding that marketplace platforms are not responsible for defective products sold by its users.
The lawsuit was filed by a user who bought a waterproof mobile phone on the Mercado Livre website and, after using the product in water, it presented several defects, which were not remedied by the seller. Unsatisfied, the user filed an indemnity lawsuit against Mercado Livre and the seller, arguing that both should be jointly liable because it constituted a consumer relation.
Judge Vanessa Manhani Vaz held that “the intermediation website cannot be liable for the intrinsic characteristics of the goods, such as the state of preservation, quality, functioning, and other defects, considering that the good passes directly from seller to buyer, without the requested intermediary having any access to the goods“.
Consequently, the Judge dismissed the claims against Mercado Livre due to lack of standing to be sued.
1 Lawsuit No. 0057108-83.2018.8.13.0271