15 U.S.C. § 1274 : US Code - Section 1274: Remedies respecting banned hazardous substances

Search 15 U.S.C. § 1274 : US Code - Section 1274: Remedies respecting banned hazardous substances

(a) Notice to protect public; form and contents
If any article or substance sold in commerce is defined as a
banned hazardous substance (whether or not it was such at the time
of its sale) and the Commission determines (after affording
interested persons, including consumers and consumer organizations,
an opportunity for a hearing) that notification is required to
adequately protect the public from such article or substance, the
Commission may order the manufacturer or any distributor or dealer
or the article or substance to take any one or more of the
following actions:
(1) To give public notice that the article or substance is a
banned hazardous substance.
(2) To mail such notice to each person who is a manufacturer,
distributor, or dealer of such article or substance.
(3) To mail such notice to every person to whom the person
giving the notice knows such article or substance was delivered
or sold.
An order under this subsection shall specify the form and content
of any notice required to be given under the order.
(b) Order of Commission; repair, replacement, or refund
If any article or substance sold in commerce is defined as a
banned hazardous substance (whether or not it was such at the time
of its sale) and the Commission determines (after affording
interested persons, including consumers and consumer organizations,
an opportunity for a hearing) that action under this subsection is
in the public interest, the Consumer Product Safety Commission may
order the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to take whichever of
the following actions the person to whom the order is directed
elects:
(1) If repairs to or changes in the article or substance may be
made so that it will not be a banned hazardous substance, to make
such repairs or changes.
(2) To replace such article or substance with a like or
equivalent article or substance which is not a banned hazardous
substance.
(3) To refund the purchase price of the article or substance
(less a reasonable allowance for use, if the article or substance
has been in the possession of the consumer for one year or more -

(A) at the time of public notice under subsection (a) of this
section, or
(B) at the time the consumer receives actual notice that the
article or substance is a banned hazardous substance,
whichever first occurs).
An order under this subsection may also require the person to whom
it applies to submit a plan, satisfactory to the Commission, for
taking the action which such person has elected to take. The
Commission shall specify in the order the persons to whom refunds
must be made if the person to whom the order is directed elects to
take the action described in paragraph (3). If an order under this
subsection is directed to more than one person, the Commission
shall specify which person has the election under this subsection.
An order under this subsection may prohibit the person to whom it
applies from manufacturing for sale, offering for sale,
distributing in commerce, or importing into the customs territory
of the United States (as defined in general note 2 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States), or from doing any
combination of such actions, with respect to the article or
substance with respect to which the order was issued.
(c) Discretionary remedial activities available to Commission;
orders; contents
(1) If the Commission determines (after affording interested
persons, including consumers and consumer organizations, an
opportunity for a hearing in accordance with subsection (e) of this
section) that any toy or other article intended for use by children
that is not a banned hazardous substance contains a defect which
creates a substantial risk of injury to children (because of the
pattern of defect, the number of defective toys or such articles
distributed in commerce, the severity of the risk, or otherwise)
and that notification is required to protect adequately the public
from such toy or article, the Commission may order the manufacturer
or any distributor or dealer of such toy or article to take any one
or more of the following actions:
(A) To give public notice that such defective toy or article
contains a defect which creates a substantial risk of injury to
children.
(B) To mail such notice to each person who is a manufacturer,
distributor, or dealer of such toy or article.
(C) To mail such notice to every person to whom the person
giving notice knows such toy or article was delivered or sold.
An order under this paragraph shall specify the form and content of
any notice required to be given under the order.
(2) If the Commission determines (after affording interested
persons, including consumers and consumer organizations, an
opportunity for a hearing in accordance with subsection (e) of this
section) that any toy or other article intended for use by children
that is not a banned hazardous substance contains a defect which
creates a substantial risk of injury to children (because of the
pattern of defect, the number of defective toys or such articles
distributed in commerce, the severity of the risk, or otherwise)
and that action under this paragraph is in the public interest, the
Commission may order the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to
take whichever of the following actions the person to whom the
order is directed elects:
(A) If repairs to or changes in the toy or article can be made
so that it will not contain a defect which creates a substantial
risk of injury to children, to make such repairs or changes.
(B) To replace such toy or article with a like or equivalent
toy or article which does not contain a defect which creates a
substantial risk of injury to children.
(C) To refund the purchase price of such toy or article (less a
reasonable allowance for use, if such toy or article has been in
the possession of the consumer for 1 year or more (i) at the time
of public notice under paragraph (1)(A), or (ii) at the time the
consumer receives actual notice that the toy or article contains
a defect which creates a substantial risk of injury to children,
whichever first occurs).
An order under this paragraph may also require the person to whom
it applies to submit a plan, satisfactory to the Commission, for
taking the action which such person has elected to take. The
Commission shall specify in the order the person to whom refunds
must be made if the person to whom the order is directed elects to
take the action described in subparagraph (C). If an order under
this paragraph is directed to more than one person, the Commission
shall specify which person has the election under this paragraph.
An order under this paragraph may prohibit the person to whom it
applies from manufacturing for sale, offering for sale,
distributing in commerce, or importing into the customs territory
of the United States (as defined in general note 2 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States), or from doing any
combination of such actions, with respect to the toy or article
with respect to which the order was issued.
(d) Charge for remedy; reimbursement for expenses
(1) No charge shall be made to any person (other than a
manufacturer, distributor, or dealer) who avails himself of any
remedy provided under an order issued under subsection (b) or (c)
of this section, and the person subject to the order shall
reimburse each person (other than a manufacturer, distributor, or
dealer) who is entitled to such a remedy for any reasonable and
foreseeable expenses incurred by such person in availing himself of
such remedy.
(2) An order issued under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this
section with respect to a toy, article or substance may require any
person who is a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer of the toy,
article or substance to reimburse any other person who is a
manufacturer, distributor, or dealer of such toy, article or
substance for such other person's expenses in connection with
carrying out the order, if the Commission determines such
reimbursement to be in the public interest.
(e) Hearing; representative of class
An order under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section may be
issued only after an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with
section 554 of title 5, except that, if the Commission determines
that any person who wishes to participate in such hearing is a part
of a class or participants who share an identity of interest, the
Commission may limit such person's participation in such hearing to
participation through a single representative designated by such
class (or by the Commission if such class fails to designate such a
representative).
(f) "Manufacturer" defined
For purposes of this section (1) the term "manufacturer" includes
an importer for resale, and (2) a dealer who sells at wholesale an
article or substance shall with respect to that sale be considered
the distributor of that article or substance.
(g) Cost-benefit analysis of notification or other action not
required
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the
Commission, in determining that an article or substance distributed
in commerce presents a substantial product hazard and that
notification or other action under this section should be taken, to
prepare a comparison of the costs that would be incurred in
providing notification or taking other action under this section
with the benefits from such notification or action.