CPSC Uses Section 12 Authority for First Time in Nearly 40 Years: DOJ Sues Lakkzoom Heater Makers Seeking Mandatory Recall
The Justice Department, together with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced on July 22 the filing of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Cixi Miaojie Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd., the manufacturer, and Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo Trading Co. Ltd., the retailer, both of China, seeking a mandatory recall of immersion water heaters sold under the Lakkzoom label.
The complaint alleges the heaters can overheat and catch fire within minutes when energized while completely or partially out of water, making them imminently hazardous under the Consumer Product Safety Act. CPSC says it received 235 fire-related reports, investigated several incidents, and its testing showed the heaters could catch fire within minutes in certain circumstances. CPSC also issued a unilateral warning urging consumers to stop using the heaters immediately.
The filing is CPSC's first use of its Section 12 imminent hazard authority since 1987, and the commission has set up a Section 12 Task Force to identify further cases. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Civil Division, and CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman all pledged to hold makers of hazardous products accountable. Model numbers include 1500W, HT1500W (also known as MJ-R13) and HT2000W, sold for about $20 to $40, largely through a major e-commerce platform. The claims in the complaint are allegations that the government would have to prove at trial.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一台便携浸入式电热水器（加热棒）实物资料图，非涉事 Lakkzoom 产品。Suyash Dwivedi摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A portable immersion water heater (file photo; not the Lakkzoom product). By Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
