Toy Recalls and Lead Lawsuits - Lawyers and Laws v. Safety
Ty, Inc. the manufacturer of Beanie Babies has refused to comply with a request from the State of Illinois to recall the Jammin Jenna doll. State law bans vinyl toys that contain more than 600 perts permillion of lead. Federal law does not.
Initially, Ty agreed to stop distributing the Ty Girlz Doll in Illinois after the Chicago Tribune reported that the red vinyl shoes on three of the dolls exceeded lead limits. Now, Ty indicates that it would rather battle over which law takes precedence - state or federal - rather than recalling the defective dolls.
Both the state attorney general’s ofice and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission have siad the Illinois ban is valid because states can adopt their own regulations where no federal law exists.
