SEATTLE, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS) is investigating claims that Corporation , manufacturer of the Thomas the Train toys, sold The First Years 3-in-1 Flush & Sounds Potty training seats that allegedly contain excess levels of lead in surface paint. The investigation comes after RC2 announced a voluntary recall of the products on December 6, 2007.
According to the recall notice from the manufacturer the surface paint containing lead is on five-inch rectangular plaques that are inserted into the backs of training seats. The plaques were produced in China between December 2005 and March 2006 and contain a picture that shows the "100 Acre Wood" from the Winnie the Pooh story.
Approximately 123,000 of these plaques were used in potty training seats sold to U.S. and Canadian mass and specialty retailers between April 2006 and August 2007.
On June 22, 2007 HBSS filed a class-action lawsuit against RC2 for the lead found in paint on Thomas the Train toy sets. HBSS has been named lead counsel in the case which has yet to go to trial or reach settlement.
"It is a scary time of year for children's toys or products to be recalled and we want to make sure parents have every available resource at their finger tips," said managing partner Steve Berman. "We are here to ensure that parents have a way to fight back and also to hold manufacturers of toys and children's products in check."
According to the RC2 recall notice the potty training seats in question have either a yellow chair with a green removable seat and a purple lift-out pot, or a blue chair with a white removable seat and green lift-out pot. The potty makes flushing sounds and says words of encouragement when the handle on the side of the seat is pushed down.
Since there is no effective treatment available for lead poisoning the CPSC has declared that "toys and other articles intended for use by children that bear lead-containing paint are banned hazardous products."
According to the Thomas the Train complaints filed by HBSS, RC2 distributed at least 1.5 million toys containing lead paint between January 2005 and June 2007 and among those products was the popular Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway.
RC2 designs, produces and markets a wide range of infant and toddler toys and accessories including Soothie bottles, sippy and straw cups, feeding accessories and healthcare products and markets under The First Years and Lamaze brands, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Winnie the Pooh, John Deere, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street.
If you have purchased The First Years 3-in-1 Flush & Sounds Potty you can contact HBSS at
About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is based in Seattle with offices in Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Since 1993, it has developed a nationally recognized practice in class-action and complex litigation. Among recent successes, HBSS has negotiated a $300 million settlement in the DRAM memory antitrust litigation; a $340 million recovery on behalf of Enron employees; a $150 million settlement involving charges of illegally inflated charges for the drug Lupron, and served as co-counsel on the Visa/Mastercard litigation which resulted in a $3 billion settlement, the largest anti-trust settlement to date. HBSS served as counsel in a $850 million Washington Public Power Supply settlement and represented Washington and 12 other states against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in history. For a complete listing of HBSS cases, visit http://www.hbsslaw.com/.
CONTACTS:
Steve Berman (206) 623-7292
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
