FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2003
Release # 03-188
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Scott Wolfson, (301) 504-7051
Commission Levies $1.5 Million In Penalties
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
announced today that it has settled three civil penalty cases and
imposed penalties totaling $1.5 million.
Two of the settlements, with Brunswick Corp., of Lake Forest,
Ill., and Murray Inc., of Brentwood, Tenn., resolve allegations that the
firms failed to report, in a timely manner, defects in their products
that could create a substantial product hazard or an unreasonable risk
of serious injury or death. Blue Coral-Slick 50 Inc., of Houston,
Texas, has agreed to a penalty for failing to package some of its
windshield products in child-resistant packaging.
"If in doubt, companies should always report any and all
information to the Commission that could affect the safety of
consumers," said Chairman Hal Stratton. "Companies that fail to take
such an approach expose themselves to the risk of civil penalties."
Brunswick agreed to a $1 million civil penalty. The Commission alleged
that Brunswick was not timely in reporting that it had learned of 31
serious incidents involving defective forks on its Mongoose and
Roadmaster bicycles. The forks broke apart during normal use of the
bicycles and caused riders to lose control, fall to the ground face
first, and suffer serious facial and head injuries. The company
conducted three recalls with CPSC between May 2000 and April 2002, each
time increasing the number of defective units recalled and identifying
additional injuries to riders from the increased number of bicycles
recalled. The final announcement brought the total number of bicycles
involved in the recall to 103,000.
Murray agreed to $375,000 in civil penalties to settle the Commission's
allegation that between November 2000 and February 2002, Murray received
over 900 reports of riding lawn mower gas tanks cracking and leaking
fuel, resulting in six fires and one burn injury. The company failed to
inform CPSC of the incidents and safety hazards on its rear-engine and
mid-engine riding lawn mowers, as required by the Consumer Product
Safety Act. In March 2002, Murray agreed to a recall of nearly 100,000
lawnmowers sold under the Murray, Murray Select, Craftsman and Wizard
brand names.
The $150,000 penalty against Blue Coral-Slick 50 Inc. represents
the first civil penalty the CPSC has imposed against a company for
violating the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
The allegations against Blue Coral-Slick 50 were that between September
1997 and May 2001, the firm distributed about one million bottles and
pouches of Rain-X® Super Glass Cleaner Concentrate, Rain-X® Washer
Fluid Additive and Rain-X® Plus Washer Fluid Concentrate without child
resistant closures, as required under the Poison Prevention Packaging
Act. The PPPA guidelines call for all household products with more than
4% methanol to be packaged in child resistant containers. The product
solution contained a hazardous level of methanol (6%) and did not use
the proper safety packaging. The Rain-X glass cleaner and washer fluid
were recalled in September 2001.
In agreeing to settle these cases, the three companies denied that
they knowingly violated the federal statutes regulated by the
Commission.
