Lawsuits you should know about

Chrysler Group LLC has recalled 24,177 vehicles due to a defective part that could cause the failure of the brakes. The recall affects the 2010 Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Nitro, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Commander, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 2009-2010 Dodge Ram trucks. The Dodge Ram Heavy Duty truck was named 2010 Truck of the Year by Motor Trend magazine. The 2010 Chrysler Sebring and Avenger were named by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as Top Safety Picks for 2010.

It is believed the problem is that the brake booster rod retaining clips in the cars and SUVs are improperly formed and that they may not have been installed at all in Ram trucks. Lack of properly working brake booster rod retaining clips could result in brake failure without any warning.

So far, there have been on injuries reported due to the faulty clips, but the problem was noticed during testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler has scheduled the recalls, which are expected to cost more than $250 million dollars, for this month. Notices will be mailed to the owners of the recalled vehicles.

Graco Children’s Products, Inc. has recalled 1.5 million strollers due to reports of children having their fingertips lacerated and amputated as a result of stroller use. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received reports of five children suffering amputations and two suffering lacerations after getting their fingers caught in the canopy hinge of the strollers.

The models being recalled by Graco are the Passage, Alano, and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems. All the recalled strollers were made in China and sold between October 2004 and December 2009 at AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Kmart, Fred Meyer, Meijers, Navy Exchange, Sears, Target, Walmart and other retailers throughout the United States for between $80 and $200.

This recall only affects Graco strollers with “a plastic, joined hinge mechanism that has indented canopy positioning notches.” The following are the model numbers for the recalled strollers. Model numbers can be found above the back wheels:

6303MYC, 6303MYC3, 7240DNB, 7240DNB2, 7240MKL2, 7240MKL3, 7F02GLM3, 6320IVY, 6320LAU, 7241DDH2, 7241DHO3, 7F04TAY3, 6330CAP, 6330THR, 6330THR3, 7255CLP, 7255CLP2, 7255CRA2, 7255CRA3, 7255CSA3, 7255GPK3, 7255GRN, 7255GRN2, 7255JJB3, 7255ORC2, 7255WLO2, 7255WLO3, 7F07EMA3, 6F00QIN3, 6F00RRY3, 7256CLO2, 7256SPM2, 7256SPM3, 7F08DSW3, 7F08LAN3, 6F03GLN3, 7260BAN, 7260BAN2, 7260BAN3, 7260MRA2, 7260MRA3, 7260PKR, 7260PKR2, 7G00DLS3, 7G00DLS4, 6G10CSE3, 7270BIA, 7270BIA2, 7G01CRL3, 7235GGA, 7235GGA2, 7E01JON2, 7E01JON3, 7G04KRA3, 7236CDR2, 7F00LPE3, 7F00RSH3, 7G05GPR3, 7G06WSR3, 7237HOL2, 7237HOL3, 7F01FOR3, 7G07ABB3, 7G07BAT3

If you have one of these strollers, please stop using it and contact Graco for a free protective cover repair kit by calling (800) 345-4109 or by visiting their web page.

A recall has been issued that affects approximately 50 million shades. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds being recalled have been involved in the strangulation death of five children. In addition, 16 children have been nearly strangled. The problem with the Roman-style shades is caused by the space between the inner cord and the shade fabric while the roll-up blinds have cords with large loops that can become caught around the children’s necks.

The blinds have been sold at such retailers as Ace Hardware, Big Lots, JCPenney, Pottery Barn, Ross, The Land of Nod, Wal-Mart, and West Elm. JCPenney is recalling over 2 million shade and blinds sold in the store, through the catalog, and online between 1999 and October 2009, for between $10 and $500. Wal-Mart is recalling over a million of the Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds sold in the store between January 1999 and September 2009 for between $6 and $30. Pottery Barn is recalling over 300,000 Roman-style shades sold in the store and online between January 1998 and October 2009 for between $25 and $180.

The CPSC is working with the Window Covering Safety Council to repair the Roman-style blinds by replacing the cord with rings, which will require the consumer to manually lift the rings to raise the shade. The repair kit will provide a device for the roll-up blinds that will cause the cord to separate into two pieces if a child’s head gets caught in it.

Those needing a repair kit should contact the Window Covering Safety Council on their web page or by calling (800) 506-4636. Wal-Mart consumers with roll-up blinds made of bamboo should return the blinds to Wal-Mart for a full refund.

Previously in this blog we reported that there were concerns about the safety of Zhu Zhu pets.  The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that the toy is not out of compliance with the mandatory US toy standards.  While the CPSC stated they will still do their own independent testing, they are confident that the toy is safe and does not violate the antimony standard for all toys in the US.

The consumer group GoodGuide who initially brought up concerns about the safety of the toy released a statement Monday that clarified its testing methods and apologized for comparing their results to federal  standards.  In the statement they report that after issuing the warning about Zhu Zhu pets they have since learned that the methodology they used for testing Mister Squiggles (the toy in question) was not the same as the methodology used by the federal government.

CNN’s website, CNN.Com , is reporting that a consumer group is claiming that Zhu Zhu pets are dangerous for children.  The makers of Zhu Zhu Pets, Cepia LLC, has denied these claims.

The consumer group GoodGuide has stated that the light brown version of the popular hamster toy named Mister Squiggles has unsafe levels of the chemical antimony.  The web site for GoodGuide (www.goodguide.com) reports that this chemical, along with tin, was found during their testing of this product.  This web site states that the chemical antimony has been linked to such medical problems as cancer, lung and heart disorders.   

The testing done by GoodGuide showed that the chemical antimony was found to be 90 parts per million in Mister Squiggles, while the industry standard for this chemical is 60 parts per million.

Cepia CEO Russ Hornsby defends the safety of the toy and in a written statement assures customers that the company performs rigorous safety testing on all their toys.  He further states that the results of all these tests show that Zhu Zhu pets and all their products are in compliance with government and industry safety standards.

Zhu Zhu pets are one of this season’s hottest toys.  They simulate a real hamster, giving children the opportunity to have a pet without all the mess and stink associated with real hamsters.

LifeLock Inc., an identify-theft protection company, has been sued for breaking the law and defrauding customers. LifeLock says it has approximately 1.5 million customers who pay a $10 a month fee to protect their credit against theft. For that fee, the company checks the customer’s credit report with major credit bureaus. The company then provides customers with alerts (email, postal, or phone) when their personal info is being used to apply for credit. The company removes customers from pre-approved credit offers and sends the customers their credit reports every 12 months. It also provide a service to cancel all accounts if the customer’s wallet is stolen.

To prove the service worked, CEO Todd Davis televised a commercial in 2005 in which his personal social security number, which was protected by the service, was shown on screen.

Many critics charges that LifeLock was charging customers for a service that was offered for free by the major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. People who believe they have fallen victim to ID theft can ask that alerts be sent from these credit bureaus for free.

Experian filed a lawsuit against LifeLock in February 2008. The lawsuit stated that the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows only for individuals to set the fraud alerts, not companies such as LifeLock. Experian stated that when LifeLock sets a fraud alert, it costs them money because they must in turn contact the other two agencies and mail notices to consumers. It believes that LifeLock’s fraud alerts clogs the system and prevents it from working as it should.

Last May, the judge in the federal lawsuit, Andrew Guilford, ruled that LifeLock fraud alerts, which are the cornerstone of its services, are illegal. LifeLock is challenging the decision, stating that their services offer a convenient way for customers to manage alerts. Davis likened it to changing your oil – you can take the time to do it yourself or have someone do it for you. Since the ruling, both Experian and Equifax have stopped accepting fraud alerts from LifeLock. However, TransUnion is still accepting them and when the LifeLock alerts are sent to them, it are required to forward the alert to the other two bureaus.

Other lawsuits filed against LifeLock concerns what some see as LifeLock’s misleading loss coverage policy. One of their commercials states “If anything happens for any reason while you’re a client of LifeLock, we will cover all losses and all expenses up to $1 million.” However, the terms and conditions state that this doesn’t cover actual losses by the customers, but the hiring of a third party to clean up their credit after the theft.

Unilever, the maker of Slim-Fast, has voluntarily recalled 10 million cans of the popular weight-loss drink due to possible bacterial contamination. It is believed the some cans may be tainted with Bacillus cereus, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, cramping, and nausea. According to officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this recall may affect as many as 10 million cans of Slim-Fast distributed in the U.S.

The recall affects all flavors of Slim-Fast ready-to-drink cans, regardless of best-by date or UPC number. Other Slim-Fast products, including powdered shakes and snack bars, are not involved in the recall.

Unilever notified the FDA of a possible contamination on Dec. 2 and has shut down production until the problem can be identified and corrected. The tainted cans were produced at a facility in Covington, Tenn. and the FDA is investigating that location.

All unused cans of Slim-Fast should be discarded. For a full refund, contact Unilever at (800) 896-9479.

Stork Craft Manufacturing has issued the largest crib recall in American history after reports of four infants suffocating due to hardware problems. It is estimated that 1.2 million of the cribs have been sold in the U.S. and almost 1 million in Canada since 1993. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall Monday. This is Stork Craft’s second major recall this year after having recalled 500,000 cribs in January 2009 for metal bracket problems.

The CPSC announced that there have been four reports of infants being caught in the drop side detachment and suffocating to death. There have also been 110 reports of infants being injured from the crib. The problem lies with both the hardware, which can break or deform, and assembly problems.

The cribs were sold between January 1993 and October 2009 at such retail outlets as BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sears, Wal-Mart, and Target and Costco online for between $100 and $400. You can locate the manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin (Canada, China, or Indonesia), and firm’s name (Stork Craft Baby or Storkling) by looking on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. Some of the cribs have the Fisher-Price logo on the crib’s teething rail. Cribs without drop sides or those with metal rod drop-side hardware are not involved in the recall.

If you have a Stork Craft crib that has been purchased since 1993, you can contact Stork Craft at (877) 274-0277 or visit their web page (http://www.storkcraft.com) to receive a free repair kit.

Homelite Consumer Products Inc., of Anderson, S.C. has issued a voluntary recall of their Homelite Mighty Lite backpack blowers due to a fuel tank leak. This leak can pose a fire hazard for consumers. So far, Homelite has received 18 individual reports of leaking fuel tanks, one report in which a consumer suffered from minor skin irritation.

Approximately 85,000 of the red and black Homelite Mighty Lite backpack blowers have been recalled. The blowers were sold between September 2007 and October 2009 at retailers such as Home Depot stores and various retailers of refurbished products including Direct Tools Factory Outlets, CPO Homelite, Gardner, Tap Enterprises, Isla Supply and Heartland America stores. The retail price was from $90 to $140 each. The model numbers affected by the recall are:

Product Model Manufacturing Date Codes Range
UT08580 ATK1820001 through ATK3659999
UT08580A ATL1530001 through ATL3669999
ATM0010001 through ATM1749999

Product model and manufacturing date codes can be located on the blower’s data label. This label is located on the red plastic housing that is above the choke knob. If the product has a green dot on the outside of the package or the letters CA on the fuel tank, it is not a part of the recall.

If you have a recalled blower, please discontinue use and contact Homelite Consumer Product, Inc. for a free fuel tank replacement. The company may be contacted at (800) 242-4672 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. You can also contact the company through their web site at http://www.homelite.com.

There’s been a trend lately with college students and the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages.  According to a few studies on this topic, as many as 26% of college students use, or have used, this combination of caffeine and alcohol.  Now the Food and Drug Administration is stepping in to make sure the drinks aren’t causing harm to those who consume them.

On November 13, 2009, the FDA issued letters to manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic products, letting them know that they are going to begin to look into the “safety and legality” of their products.  The increase in the popularity and use of thee products, along with reports of some potential safety hazards, are cited as reasons precipitating this step.

In order for these products to not be unlawful, one of the following conditions must be met:

• Its use has been approved by FDA regulation
• The substance is subject to a prior sanction
• The substance is “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS).  In order for it to meet this criteria there must be evidence of its safety at the levels used, and a basis to conclude that the evidence is generally known and accepted by “qualified experts” on the subject.

As of the date of this blog entry, the FDA has not approved caffeine for use at any levels in alcoholic beverages.  So for a product to be on the market legally it can only be done so if there use is subject to a prior sanction, or their use is generally recognized as safe.

In the notice, the FDA has alerted the nearly 30 manufacturers of these products that they are considering whether or not caffeine can be lawfully added to alcoholic beverages.  The FDA requested that the manufactures provide evidence within a 30 day period of their theories as to why their product is lawfully being marketed (based on the criteria listed above), along with data and proof to support their theories.

The FDA has indicated that if it is determined the use of caffeine in a product is not GRAS or prior sanctioned, action will be taken to ensure the products are not allowed to be sold.