Laws regulating the retail industry are designed to ensure that consumers are protected. This includes prohibitions against distributors from selling a defective product which has already been recalled by the manufacturer, in Illinois or in any other state. When a distributor fails to adhere to these laws, it can face serious fines from authorities. This is what recently happened with Meijer, Inc.
The distributor was recently fined by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for knowingly selling 12 different products that had already been recalled. The company distributed the products via a system operated jointly with a third party company. The CPSC claims that Meijer received notice regarding the recalled items, but it failed to take any action to stop the distribution of the recalls. This resulted in the resale of 1,700 recalled units onto the consumer market between April 2010 and April 2011.
Some of the recalled items included various products made for children by Fisher-Price, such as toddler tricycles and crawl aquariums. Also included were a vacuum cleaner made by Hoover and a Black & Decker sander. Meijer has since agreed to create a compliance program aimed at preventing this type of problem from reoccurring. However, the company has neither admitted nor denied the CPSC allegations.
Those in Illinois who think they may have been injured by one of these product defect recalls have the right to pursue claims for reimbursement of any monetary damages sustained. Even without an official recall, a defective product which causes injury may cause a consumer to file a products liability claim against the manufacturer and/or others in the consumer supply chain. A successfully navigated claim could result in a monetary judgment to cover damages such as medical costs, rehabilitation expenses and pain and suffering related to the injuries suffered.
Source: Detroit Free Press, “Meijer fined $2M for selling recalled products“, Bob Brenzing, Sept. 17, 2014