PRODUCT RECALL INFORMATION

• Progress Flourscent Lights---Made by Progress Lighting in South Carolina. Fire Hazard caused by improper wiring. Defective lights were made between March 1998 and March 1999.
• Children’s Board Books---Board book lamination on “Bunny My Honey” books may peel and cause choking hazard for young children. Only books with “Printed in Italy” are recalled.
• Water Heaters---American Water Heater Co. of Tennessee. 16,000 gas heaters need burners replaced to avoid excess carbon monoxide.
• Fryer Basket Handles---National Presto Industries of Wisconsion. 50,000 CoolDaddy fryer basket handles can break off resulting in hot oil spattering people.
• Gas Ranges---Wolf Range Co. of California. 15,000 residential gas ranges need repairs because delayed ignition of gas in ovens and broilers can cause risk of burns and fires.

FOR MORE PRODUCT SAFETY AND RECALL INFORMATION, GO TO THE WEB SITE FOR THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION:
http://www.cpsc.gov
TO REPORT A DANGEROUS PRODUCT, E-MAIL:
siu@cpsc.gov

RECENT LEGAL NEWS

• The Alabama Supreme Court held that arbitration agreements can not eliminate an arbitrator from awarding punitive damages.
• The Alabama Supreme Court held that in certain cases based on breach of warranty, the failure to include the arbitration terms in the warranty means that arbitration can not be imposed on a consumer.
• A federal appeals court has completely wiped out a $250 million judgment against DaimlerChrysler. The lawsuit concerned design flaws in a 1985 Dodge Caravan in which a 6 year old child was killed. The lawsuit centered problems in the liftgate latches.
• Baxter International admitted for the first time that its dialysis filters appeared to have played a role in the deaths of numerous patients in Texas, Nebraska and several foreign countries.
• The initial failure to stop an armed man at Chicago O’Hare airport may be blamed by the security company on allegedly defective scanning equipment.
• A federal appeals court has set aside the $5 Billion judgment against Exxon. The lawsuit arose out off the 1989 Alaska oil spill. Apparently the court did not find that Exxon was not responsible---it just didn’t want Exxon to lose that much money. It told the lower court to consider a lesser amount of punishment.
• A Texas jury hit Wal-Mart with a #13 million judgment in a malicious prosecution case. The store giant initiated prosecution against an alleged shoplifter and told law enforcement it had a surveillance tape showing the theft. Apparently, the lady arrested proved that she was 200 miles away from the theft, and Wal-Mart never produced the tape.
• The Utah Supreme Court reinstated a $145 million judgment against State Farm in a case accusing the insurance company of malicious behavior arising out of an auto accident case.