Silverman Quoted in Law360 on CPSC Ikea Repair Campaign

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Washington D.C. Partner Cary Silverman discusses the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)’s Ikea repair campaign and resulting recall in a June 29 Law360 article, “Ikea’s 29M Dresser Recall Shows CPSC Repair Push Failed.”

Ikea recently recalled 29 million dressers prone to falling over and injuring children nearly a year after the CPSC’s unsuccessful campaign to resolve the issue by offering free repair kits. Silverman notes that CPSC’s decision to call Ikea’s 2015 repair efforts a “campaign” deviates from its typical practice of terming similar actions “recalls.”

The July 2015 repair program came after two children died from unsecured dressers falling on top of them. The campaign sought to provide free wall-anchoring kits to consumers; some attorneys surmise that the CPSC may have held a repair program instead of a recall because of debate over whether an unsecured dresser could be considered a defective product that requires a recall.

Silverman points out that many items can fall on people, and children have a tendency to climb on and pull things down. He notes, “The CPSC would have a difficult time if it required every TV set not to fall over.”