Despite imposing onerous new compliance terms, the recently announced Vornado civil penalty was criticized by three commissioners as too low amid their urgent calls for larger penalties in the future. On July 7, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a $7.5 million civil penalty settlement with manufacturer of air circulation products, Vornado Air (Vornado). Vornado agreed to pay the civil penalty to resolve charges that the Company knowingly failed to immediately report allegedly defective electric space heaters to the CPSC under Section 15(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The Commission voted 4-0-1 to provisionally accept the settlement. Notably, three of the agency’s five commissioners published individual statements alongside the agency’s announcement of the penalty, which is atypical. The statements provide product safety stakeholders with insights on how the “new” Commission views civil penalties and its enforcement authority. Continue Reading “Wiping the Slate Clean”— CPSC Commissioners Signal Higher Penalties to Come in Wake of Vornado Penalty Resolution

Supply chain issues are a top concern for many companies across industries and markets. Please join Crowell & Moring for a webinar series that explores these issues and provides insights on the various legal and tactical considerations as companies think about supply chain disruption, impacts, and solutions.

Torts & Product Liability Issues
Wednesday, January 12,

Supply chain issues are a top concern for many companies across industries and markets. Please join Crowell & Moring for a webinar series that explores these issues and provides insights on the various legal and tactical considerations as companies think about supply chain disruption, impacts, and solutions.

Overview of Supply Chain 
Wednesday, November 17 at

Cheri Falvey - Crowell & Moring partner and co-chair of the firm’s Advertising & Product Risk Management Group

Consumer safety is increasingly on the minds of government regulators and consumer product companies. In a three-part video series, Cheri Falvey, Crowell & Moring partner and co-chair of the firm’s Advertising & Product Risk Management Group, as well as former general counsel of the CPSC, breaks down risk mitigation strategies that consumer products companies should consider as part of their compliance programs.

In these two-minute videos, Cheri goes over common mistakes that companies can make in meeting their regulatory compliance obligation, what corporate officers can do to avoid enforcement action, and how to minimize the risk of litigation during a product recall, amongst other considerations. Click here to view this video alert and to access a transcript on Crowell.com. Each video is also embedded at the bottom of this post.Continue Reading VIDEO: Risk Mitigation Strategies and Compliance Programs for Consumer Product Companies