Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Chicago
CHICAGO – Class action lawyers are suing over the recall of a child car seat found to have a screw that could come loose in the carrying handle.
Laukaitis Law and Siri & Glimstad on Sept. 9 filed what appears to be the first lawsuit over Britax seats subject to a voluntary recall last month. The company announced the decision to recall more than 114,000 seats from its B-Safe and Endeavours line and is now called into Chicago federal court.
The lawsuit does not allege any children were harmed by the handle coming loose but that consumers paid more for a product than they would have had they known it was possibly faulty. Jessica Kasmer of Illinois is the lead plaintiff.
“Prior to making her purchase, Plaintiff saw and relied on Britax’s product representations emphasizing the quality, safety, rigorous standards, and trustworthiness associated with its brand,” the complaint says.
Kasmer is upset with the relief provided by the recall, noting Britax is currently developing and testing a repair kit. It told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the kit will add external bracketing.
But until that’s available, Kasmer and others are “deprived of the use of a central product feature,” the suit says, and the recall does not provide any refunds.
“The handle condition presents a serious safety risk,” the suit says. “Infant car seats are designed to be lifted and transported using their carrying handles while the child is secured inside.
“If the handle partially detaches during use, the seat and child may fall, creating a risk of injury.”
The suit hopes to establish a nationwide class of consumers as well as an Illinois subclass. It makes claims under state consumer protection statutes and charges Britax with fraudulent concealment, arguing the company concealed the defect and continued to sell the seats.
