California Company To Pay $200,000 Civil Penalty For Importing and
Selling Illegal Children's Toys
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2004
Release # 04-063
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Scott Wolfson, (301) 504-7051 or Eric Criss, (301) 504-7908
California Company To Pay $200,000 Civil Penalty For Importing and
Selling Illegal Children's Toys
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is
announcing today that Imperial Toy Corp., of Los Angeles, Calif., has
agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty for importing and selling
children's toys that violated federal safety standards. To protect
young children from choking, aspiration, or ingestion hazards, federal
law prohibits toys intended for children under three from having small
parts.
The civil penalty levied against Imperial (pdf) is the largest ever
imposed against a toy company penalized or sued for the first time for
violating CPSC's small parts regulations.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
also enjoined Imperial from violating CPSC's toy regulations in the
future and the court is requiring that Imperial's toys be independently
tested for safety and proper age-grading prior to importation and
distribution.
The lawsuit against Imperial, which was filed in May 2003, alleged
that between 1998 and 2001 the company imported two models of toys
(totaling about 10,000 units) which had small parts in violation of CPSC
regulations. The toys were candy-filled plastic trucks and dolls'
feeding sets. The trucks were recalled in 1998 and the dolls' feeding
sets were recalled in 2001. Through the inspection and detective work
of CPSC and the U.S. Customs Service, many of these toys were seized at
the Port of Long Beach before they could reach store shelves. No
incidents or injuries have been reported with those toys that made their
way into children's hands.
In 2003, CPSC recalled 80 toys and children's products that posed
a risk of injury. In 2002, the latest year for which CPSC has data,
there were an estimated 212,000 children (under 15 years old) treated in
hospital emergency rooms due to toy-related incidents. There were 13
deaths associated with toys.
The Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Litigation handled
this case on CPSC's behalf.
Imperial denies that its toys violated CPSC regulations.
