Planet Toys Inc., a company facing a class-action lawsuit filed following the distribution of an asbestos-contaminated toy, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in New York March 18, 2009.
The company sold toy crime-scene kits based on the popular CBS series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” which the nonprofit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) claimed contained asbestos in 2007. Asbestos exposure can lead to the development of serious health conditions such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. A mesothelioma cure does not exist for the aggressive cancer that 2,000 to 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with annually.
Planet Toys and CBS Corp. were sued by ADAO last year, prompting the toy company to pull the crime-scene kits off the shelves. Planet Toys now faces a class-action lawsuit over the kits and plaintiffs have until March 30 to file a motion to certify the case.
The bankruptcy petition states Planet Toys has assets in the range of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million. A business may file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy when it is unable to pay creditors or is badly in debt. A business generally ceases operation unless it is continued by a Chapter 7 trustee, appointed immediately. The trustee then typically sells the company’s assets and distributes proceeds to creditors.
In November 2007, ADAO announced that it sponsored tests on the kits conducted by three independent asbestos testing labs. According to the lawsuit filed by the organization, the tests found that the toys contained “substantial quantities of tremolite asbestos… one of the most lethal forms of asbestos.” The hazardous mineral was found in the fingerprint dusting powder in the kits.
Lawsuits were filed by Public Justice on behalf of ADAO. The lead Public Justice attorney in the case stated that the “powder has been marketed and sold to thousands of children who are told to spread it around and blow off the excess. It’s a shame that we’ve had to resort to litigation to force these companies to do what they should have done in the first place to protect the American public.”
Additional information about asbestos exposure and mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Cancer Center.