Companies Face Wave of Lawsuits Over Flame Retardants in Products– by Fiona Smith at the Daily Journal

Excerpted from the full article at the San Francisco Daily Journal:

Two lawyers are poised to unleash a flood of lawsuits against a slew of major companies alleging that they are failing to warn the public about the dangers of flame retardants in their products.

The controversy centers on the cancer-causing chemical chlorinated tris, which regulators recently listed under the state’s unique toxics warning law Proposition 65. The 1986 voter initiative requires companies to alert the public if they could be exposed to hazardous levels of hundreds of different chemicals.

Since the requirement to warn over tris began in October, lawyers for a nonprofit and a few individuals allege they have found high levels of tris in everything from upholstered furniture to crib mattresses to children’s nap pads.

The two firms, The Chanler Group and the Lexington Law Group, have threatened to sue around 100 companies including J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart, Munchkin and Graco Children’s Products alleging they are failing to post Proposition 65 warnings.

As the required 60-day waiting periods to file suits are starting to expire, litigation could start any day. Veteran Proposition 65 attorney Clifford A. Chanler, who is behind most of the claims, is promising to aggressively go after the companies and defense attorneys are already preparing for what could be a costly and complicated legal fight. link to source