Napa Home & Garden Files Chapter 11
GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 7/7/2011 2:33:32 PM
Duluth, GA - Garden gift manufacturer Napa Home & Garden Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to the Wall Street Journal. Napa Home & Garden, manufacturers of fire pots and gel fuel that the company recently voluntarily recalled, faces lawsuits from injured consumers, including two filed in South Carolina by Motley Rice LLC. (The firepots themselves were held pending review).
Recalled Napa gel fuel
Executives said that because incidents related to the fire pots will likely "result in huge litigation expenses and massive customer returns, [the company] cannot expect to operate for much longer," according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta. Court papers indicate that incident-related insurance claims could total more than 70.
The bankruptcy filing automatically halts ongoing lawsuits and prevents new ones without special court permission.
According to the filing, Napa plans to sell itself through a court-supervised auction. A leading bid of $1.1 million has already been made by Teters Floral Products Inc. of Missouri. Existing and future lawsuits would continue against what remains of Napa Home & Garden's bankruptcy estate once the sale closes.
The Journal quoted U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Carl Purvis as saying that the firepots' gel fuel is tough to extinguish with water, and consumers can't always tell when a fire pot's flame is fully out, making it safe to add more gel. Several incidents of severe burns that occurred when consumers added fuel to pots that were already burning have been reported.
Napa president Jerry Cunningham could not immediately be reached for comment.
Question: Is this another case of a product (badly) "Made in China"?
Bettie Miner - 2011-07-07 15:33:46 EDT-
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