$13.5 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT in product defect case

NATIONAL - Jurors hit Lasko Products, Inc., with a $13.5 million verdict after a faulty fan motor ignited a blaze in 2005 that killed a 7-year-old boy.

Lasko is the largest fan manufacturer in the United States. They discovered a defect in the China-made fan motors in 1999 and developed corrective technology in 2004. The company did not alert consumers who already had the defective fans nor report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) until after the boy's death.

http://www.laskoproducts.com/recall/recall_fans.html

Kohl's and Ross Stores pay almost 1 MILLION dollars

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION (CPSC) announced that KOHL’S DEPARTMENT STORES INC., of Menomonee Falls, WI, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $425,000.00. The penalty settlement, which has been provisionally accepted by the commission, resolves CPSC staff allegations that KOHL’S DEPARTMENT STORES knowlingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as requred by federal law, that children's hooded sweatshirts it sold had drawstrings at the neck.

Last month the CPSC annouced that ROSS STORES INC., of Pleasanton, CA has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $500,000.00. The penalty settlement, which has been provisionally accepted by the commission, resolves CPSC staff allegations that ROSS STORES INC., knowlingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as requred by federal law, that children's hooded sweatshirts it sold had drawstrings at the neck.

www.trippfirm.com