"Do you have a U.S. passport or another passport that allows for visa free travel as a tourist in the Schengen zone?"
NO this was the problem. I was Transit without a visa but I did not know Easy Jet did not allow this. The issue is whether or not they had a contractual obligation to inform me of this policy before I left AMS on leg 1.
"I am not a legal expert, but my guess is that the combination of 1) their contract of carriage not allowing transit passengers, 2) it being your responsibility, not that of the airline, to ensure you have the proper passport and visa prior to travel, and 3) the ticket being non-refundable, means you are out of luck on this one. Sorry."
Yes you are probably correct but the Dutch do allow Transit. Easy Jet is attempting to perform the Dutch Immigration's job for them. My only viable argument is whether or not they should have informed me in AMS I could not return in a transit status. Had I flown on KLM or BA it would have not been an issue.