Consumer Products Recall Management
Expert for Class Action

The need

Attorneys representing consumers in a class action lawsuit against a heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer needed an expert in consumer products recall management. The lawsuit alleged that the manufacturer committed breach of warranty, as well as other negligence, by mismanaging a product recall and not replacing the defective product. Instead the manufacturer offered a solution that not only disabled the immediate hazard but also key product functionality. As such, the expert would need to be someone who had managed recalls and could advise on how it could have been better crafted and, more importantly, confirm whether or not it was inadequate and left consumers in danger. Plaintiffs were seeking replacement of the defective product so the expert would also need to be able to deliver an informed opinion on the appropriateness of that remedy.

Our approach

It was clear from the case and the multiple aspects of the recall that were in question that the expert would need deep, specialized experience in recall management. Ideally that would mean a former employee of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) or someone that had worked for a recall administrator.

The expert

We found an expert with over 30 years of experience working at the CPSC in various leadership roles focused on compliance and policy enforcement around the organization’s work to protect the public against risk of injury or death associated with consumer products. In addition to that, the expert had spent many years as a consultant advising businesses on all aspects of a product recall including when and how to issue a recall, recall manual development, and establishing effective recall processes and procedures.