§ 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 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.

(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.

U.S. Code

§ 1274. Remedies respecting banned hazardous substances