[Federal Register: April 16, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 72)]
[Notices]
[Page 17653-17655]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16ap09-32]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[CPSC Docket No. 09-C0017]
Brents-Riordan Co., LLC, Provisional Acceptance of a Settlement
Agreement and Order
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 17654]]
SUMMARY: It is the policy of the Commission to publish settlements
which it provisionally accepts under the Consumer Product Safety Act in
the Federal Register in accordance with the terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e).
Published below is a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with
Brents-Riordan Co., LLC, containing a civil penalty of $30,000.00.
DATES: Any interested person may ask the Commission not to accept this
agreement or otherwise comment on its contents by filing a written
request with the Office of the Secretary by May 1, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to comment on this Settlement Agreement
should send written comments to the Comment 09-C0017, Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4408.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis C. Kacoyanis, Trial Attorney,
Division of Compliance, Office of the General Counsel, Consumer Product
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-
4408; telephone (301) 504-7587.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Agreement and Order appears
below.
Dated: April 9, 2009.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary.
Settlement Agreement
1. In accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20, Brents-Riordan Co., LLC
(``Brents-Riordan'') and the staff (``Staff'') of the United States
Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'') enter into this
Settlement Agreement (``Agreement''). The Agreement and the
incorporated attached Order (``Order'') settle the Staff's allegations
set forth below.
Parties
2. The Commission is an independent federal regulatory agency
established pursuant to, and responsible for the enforcement of, the
Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2051-2089 (``CPSA'').
3. Brents-Riordan is a corporation organized and existing under the
laws of the State of Louisiana, with its principal offices located in
Shreveport, LA. Brents-Riordan is an importer of apparel.
Staff Allegations
4. Brents-Riordan imported about 7,400 hooded youth sweatshirts and
jackets with drawstrings (``Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts''). From
March 2007 to December 2007, Brents-Riordan sold the Drawstring Jackets
and Sweaters to various retailers who in-turn sold them to consumers.
5. The Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts are ``consumer
product[s],'' and, at all times relevant hereto, Brents-Riordan was a
``manufacturer'' of those consumer products, which were ``distributed
in commerce,'' as those terms are defined in CPSA sections 3(a) (5),
(8), and (11), 15 U.S.C. 2052(a), (5), (8), and (11).
6. In February 1996, the Staff issued the Guidelines for
Drawstrings on Children's Upper Outerwear (``Guidelines'') to help
prevent children from strangling or entangling on neck and waist
drawstrings. The Guidelines state that drawstrings can cause, and have
caused, injuries and deaths when they catch on items such as playground
equipment, bus doors, or cribs. In the Guidelines, the Staff recommends
that there be no hood and neck drawstrings in children's upper
outerwear sized 2T to 12.
7. In June 1997, ASTM adopted a voluntary standard, ASTM F1816-97,
that incorporated the Guidelines. The Guidelines state that firms
should be aware of the hazards and should be sure garments they sell
conform to the voluntary standard.
8. On May 19, 2006, the Commission posted on its Web site a letter
from the Commission's Director of the Office of Compliance to
manufacturers, importers, and retailers of children's upper outerwear.
The letter urges them to make certain that all children's upper
outerwear sold in the United States complies with ASTM F1816-97. The
letter states that the Staff considers children's upper outerwear with
drawstrings at the hood or neck area to be defective and to present a
substantial risk of injury to young children under Federal Hazardous
Substances Act (``FHSA'') section 15(c), 15 U.S.C. 1274(c). The letter
also notes the CPSA's section 15(b) reporting requirements.
9. Brents-Riordan reported to the Commission there had been no
incidents or injuries involving Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts.
10. Brents-Riordan's manufacture and distribution in commerce of
the Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts did not meet the Guidelines or
ASTM F1816-97, failed to comport with the Staff's May 2006 defect
notice, and posed a strangulation hazard to children.
11. On April 2, 2008, the Commission and Brents-Riordan announced a
recall of the Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts. The recall informed
consumers that they should immediately remove the drawstrings to
eliminate the hazard.
12. Brents-Riordan had presumed and actual knowledge that the
Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts distributed in commerce posed a
strangulation hazard and presented a substantial risk of injury to
children under FHSA section 15(c)(1), 15 U.S.C. 1274(c)(1). Brents-
Riordan had obtained information that reasonably supported the
conclusion that the Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts contained a
defect that could create a substantial product hazard or that they
created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. CPSA sections
15(b)(3) and (4), 15 U.S.C. 2064(b)(3) and (4), required Brents-Riordan
to immediately inform the Commission of the defect and risk.
13. Brents-Riordan knowingly failed to immediately inform the
Commission about the Drawstring Jackets and Sweatshirts as required by
CPSA sections 15(b)(3) and (4), 15 U.S.C. 2064(b)(3) and (4), and as
the term ``knowingly'' is defined in CPSA section 20(d), 15 U.S.C.
2069(d). This failure violated CPSA section 19(a)(4), 15 U.S.C.
2068(a)(4). Pursuant to CPSA section 20, 15 U.S.C. 2069, this failure
subjected Brents-Riordan to civil penalties.
Brents-Riordan Response
14. Brents-Riordan denies the Staff's allegations that Brents-
Riordan violated the CPSA.
Agreement of the Parties
15. Under the CPSA, the Commission has jurisdiction over this
matter and over Brents-Riordan.
16. The parties enter into the Agreement for settlement purposes
only. The Agreement does not constitute an admission by Brents-Riordan,
or a determination by the Commission, that Brents-Riordan has knowingly
violated the CPSA.
17. In settlement of the Staff's allegations, Brents-Riordan shall
pay a civil penalty in the amount of thirty-five thousand dollars
($35,000.00) within twenty (20) calendar days of service of the
Commission's final Order accepting the Agreement. The payment shall be
by check payable to the order of the United States Treasury.
18. Upon provisional acceptance of the Agreement, the Agreement
shall be placed on the public record and published in the Federal
Register in accordance with the procedures set forth in 16 CFR
1118.20(e). In accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20(f), if the Commission
does not receive any
[[Page 17655]]
written request not to accept the Agreement within fifteen (15)
calendar days, the Agreement shall be deemed finally accepted on the
sixteenth (16th) calendar day after the date it is published in the
Federal Register.
19. Upon the Commission's final acceptance of the Agreement and
issuance of the final Order, Brents-Riordan knowingly, voluntarily, and
completely waives any rights it may have regarding the Staff's
allegations to the following: (1) An administrative or judicial
hearing; (2) judicial review or other challenge or contest of the
validity of the Order or of the Commission's actions; (3) a
determination by the Commission of whether Brents-Riordan failed to
comply with the CPSA and its underlying regulations; (4) a statement of
findings of fact and conclusions of law; and (5) any claims under the
Equal Access to Justice Act.
20. The Commission may publicize the terms of the Agreement and the
Order.
21. The Agreement and the Order shall apply to, and be binding
upon, Brents-Riordan and each of its successors and assigns.
22. The Commission issues the Order under the provisions of the
CPSA, and violation of the Order may subject those referenced in
paragraph 21 to appropriate legal action.
23. The Agreement may be used in interpreting the Order.
Understandings, agreements, representations, or interpretations apart
from those contained in the Agreement and the Order may not be used to
vary or contradict their terms. The Agreement shall not be waived,
amended, modified, or otherwise altered without written agreement
thereto executed by the party against whom such waiver, amendment,
modification, or alteration is sought to be enforced.
24. If any provision of the Agreement and the Order is held to be
illegal, invalid, or unenforceable under present or future laws
effective during the terms of the Agreement and the Order, such
provision shall be fully severable. The balance of the Agreement and
the Order shall remain in full force and effect, unless the Commission
and Brents-Riordan agree that severing the provision materially affects
the purpose of the Agreement and the Order.
BRENTS-RIORDAN CO., LLC.
Dated: January 19, 2009.
By:
Michael Riordan,
Managing Member, Brents-Riordan Co., LLC, 9151 Youree Drive,
Shreveport, LA 71115.
Dated: January 19, 2009.
By:
Michael E. Powell, III, Esquire,
Counsel for Respondent Brents-Riordan, LLC, 6425 Youree Drive, Suite
440, Shreveport, LA 71105.
U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION.
Cheryl A. Falvey,
General Counsel.
Ronald G. Yelenik,
Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel.
Dated: January 28, 2009.
By:
Dennis C. Kacoyanis,
Trial Attorney, Division of Compliance, Office of the General
Counsel.
Order
Upon consideration of the Settlement Agreement entered into between
Brents-Riordan Co., LLC (``Brents-Riordan'') and the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (``Commission'') staff, and the Commission
having jurisdiction over the subject matter and over Brents-Riordan,
and it appearing that the Settlement Agreement and the Order are in the
public interest, it is Ordered, that the Settlement Agreement be, and
hereby is, accepted; and it is
Further ordered, that Brents-Riordan shall pay a civil penalty in
the amount of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000.00) within twenty
(20) calendar days of service of the Commission's final Order accepting
the Agreement. The payment shall be by check payable to the order of
the United States Treasury. Upon the failure of Brents-Riordan to make
the foregoing payment when due, interest on the unpaid amount shall
accrue and be paid by Brents-Riordan at the federal legal rate of
interest set forth at 28 U.S.C. 1961(a) and (b).
Provisionally accepted and provisional Order issued on the 8th
day of April, 2009.
BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-8708 Filed 4-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P