Planet Toys Inc.: Facing a Potential Class Action Lawsuit
Planet Toys Inc., facing a potential class action lawsuit over its “CSI” fingerprint kits, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in New York this week. The toys were pulled from store shelves in late 2007 after tests had revealed asbestos in the kits.
Planet Toys’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Fingerprint Examination Kit was found to be contaminated with tremolite asbestos. The kit simulates the fingerprint dusting process used by law enforcement agencies and encouraged children to blow on the powder, putting them at risk of inhaling airborne asbestos fibers. Tremolite asbestos was found to be as high as 7.2 percent in one of the powders contained in the kit, and was found in 6 out of 8 samples tested. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization sponsored the testing of this and other toys and household consumer products. The study was funded in part by a grant from the Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Oberman, Satterley & Bosl Foundation and by Kazan Law clients Paul and Michelle Zygielbaum.
Surprisingly, although banned in some states and ordered off the market by the manufacturer and by CBS, which had licenced the use of its popular CSI series name, this kit is still for sale on Amazon.com and through Ebay.com, as well.
Late in the day on March 25, I alerted Michael Hatch, an attorney in Amazon’s General Counsel’s office, about the current availability of this dangerous product on his site, and hope by now it has stopped its sales. Presumably the folks at Amazon.com share our desire to protect America’s children from exposure to known carcinogens.
Stay tuned for additional news.
