Timothy L. Mullin, Jr.

In 2015, a group of consumer groups filed a petition with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) seeking to ban under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act the use of non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants (“ORF”) from children’s products, furniture, mattresses and cases surrounding electronics. The petitioners assert that ORFs migrate from the products and create adverse health effects. CPSC staff reviewed the petition, and recommended rejecting it, concluding that there was insufficient data supporting the health risks asserted in the petition. Despite

On September 21, 2017, President Trump nominated Dana Baiocco to replace Commissioner Marietta S. Robinson when her term at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) expires on October 26. Ms. Baiocco is a partner at Jones Day in Boston and a seasoned product liability litigator. Ms. Baiocco received a B.S. in 1988 from Ohio University and a J.D. from Duquesne University in 1997. She has experience in mass torts and consumer product litigation, as well as representing clients in CPSC matters.      Ms.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) announced on August 29 it has provisionally agreed with Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. to a $5.7 million settlement of allegations that the retailer unlawfully sold recalled products over a four year period.  The settlement will almost certainly become final once The Commission considers public comments as required by its rules. The CPSC staff alleges in the settlement agreement  that Home Depot “knowingly” sold or distributed approximately 2,816 units of 33 different recalled products from 2012 to 2016,

On July 25, 2017, President Trump announced that he would nominate Acting Chairman Buerkle to be the permanent Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Anne Marie Buerkle was appointed to the CPSC by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in June 2013. In February, she became Acting Chairman when Commissioner Kaye resigned as Chairman at the request of the administration. Commissioner Buerkle’s current term expires in October 2018. The nomination as Chairman is for a new seven year term beginning

For those of you who have recently conducted a recall, you may have noticed that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has been paying more attention to monthly progress reports on the status of recalls. Every corrective action approved by the CPSC requires submission of progress reports every month, typically for a year after the recall. In the past, companies have sometimes fallen behind in filing progress reports, and CPSC on occasion let that go by. But no more. Starting