Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 17655 

written request not to accept the 

Agreement within fifteen (15) calendar 

days, the Agreement shall be deemed 

finally accepted on the sixteenth (16th) 

calendar day after the date it is 

published in the Federal Register. 

19. Upon the Commission’s final 

acceptance of the Agreement and 

issuance of the final Order, BrentsRiordan knowingly, voluntarily, and 

completely waives any rights it may 

have regarding the Staff’s allegations to 

the following: (1) An administrative or 

judicial hearing; (2) judicial review or 

other challenge or contest of the validity 

of the Order or of the Commission’s 

actions; (3) a determination by the 

Commission of whether Brents-Riordan 

failed to comply with the CPSA and its 

underlying regulations; (4) a statement 

of findings of fact and conclusions of 

law; and (5) any claims under the Equal 

Access to Justice Act. 

20. The Commission may publicize 

the terms of the Agreement and the 

Order. 

21. The Agreement and the Order 

shall apply to, and be binding upon, 

Brents-Riordan and each of its 

successors and assigns. 

22. The Commission issues the Order 

under the provisions of the CPSA, and 

violation of the Order may subject those 

referenced in paragraph 21 to 

appropriate legal action. 

23. The Agreement may be used in 

interpreting the Order. Understandings, 

agreements, representations, or 

interpretations apart from those 

contained in the Agreement and the 

Order may not be used to vary or 

contradict their terms. The Agreement 

shall not be waived, amended, 

modified, or otherwise altered without 

written agreement thereto executed by 

the party against whom such waiver, 

amendment, modification, or alteration 

is sought to be enforced. 

24. If any provision of the Agreement 

and the Order is held to be illegal, 

invalid, or unenforceable under present 

or future laws effective during the terms 

of the Agreement and the Order, such 

provision shall be fully severable. The 

balance of the Agreement and the Order 

shall remain in full force and effect, 

unless the Commission and BrentsRiordan agree that severing the 

provision materially affects the purpose 

of the Agreement and the Order. 

BRENTS–RIORDAN CO., LLC. 

Dated: January 19, 2009. 

By: 

Michael Riordan, 

Managing Member, Brents-Riordan Co., LLC, 

9151 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA 71115. 

Dated: January 19, 2009. 

By: 

Michael E. Powell, III, Esquire, 

Counsel for Respondent Brents-Riordan, LLC, 

6425 Youree Drive, Suite 440, Shreveport, LA 

71105. 

U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION. 

Cheryl A. Falvey, 

General Counsel. 

Ronald G. Yelenik, 

Assistant General Counsel, Office of the 

General Counsel. 

Dated: January 28, 2009. 

By: 

Dennis C. Kacoyanis, 

Trial Attorney, Division of Compliance, 

Office of the General Counsel. 

Order 

Upon consideration of the Settlement 

Agreement entered into between BrentsRiordan Co., LLC (‘‘Brents-Riordan’’) 

and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) staff, and 

the Commission having jurisdiction 

over the subject matter and over BrentsRiordan, and it appearing that the 

Settlement Agreement and the Order are 

in the public interest, it is Ordered, that 

the Settlement Agreement be, and 

hereby is, accepted; and it is 

Further ordered, that Brents-Riordan 

shall pay a civil penalty in the amount 

of thirty-five thousand dollars 

($35,000.00) within twenty (20) 

calendar days of service of the 

Commission’s final Order accepting the 

Agreement. The payment shall be by 

check payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury. Upon the failure of 

Brents-Riordan to make the foregoing 

payment when due, interest on the 

unpaid amount shall accrue and be paid 

by Brents-Riordan at the federal legal 

rate of interest set forth at 28 U.S.C. 

1961(a) and (b). 

Provisionally accepted and provisional 

Order issued on the 8th day of April, 2009. 

BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. E9–8708 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0005] 

Bob’s Stores Corp., Provisional 

Acceptance of a Settlement Agreement 

and Order 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: It is the policy of the 

Commission to publish settlements 

which it provisionally accepts under the 

Consumer Product Safety Act in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published 

below is a provisionally accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Bob’s Stores 

Corp., containing a civil penalty of 

$55,000.00. 

DATES: Any interested person may ask 

the Commission not to accept this 

agreement or otherwise comment on its 

contents by filing a written request with 

the Office of the Secretary by May 1, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 09–C0005, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth 

B. Popkin, Lead Trial Attorney, Division 

of Compliance, Office of the General 

Counsel, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland 20814–4408; 

telephone (301) 504–7612. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

April 9, 2009. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

Settlement Agreement 

1. In accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20, 

Bob’s Stores Corp. (‘‘Bob’s’’) and the 

staff (‘‘Staff’’) of the United States 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) enter into this 

Settlement Agreement (‘‘Agreement’’). 

The Agreement and the incorporated 

attached Order (‘‘Order’’) settle the 

Staff’s allegations set forth below. 

Parties 

2. The Commission is an independent 

federal regulatory agency established 

pursuant to, and responsible for the 

enforcement of, the Consumer Product 

Safety Act, 15 U.S.C.2051—2089 

(‘‘CPSA’’). 

3. Bob’s is a corporation organized 

and existing under the laws of New 

Hampshire, with its principal offices 

located in Meriden, Connecticut. At all 

times relevant hereto, Bob’s sold 

apparel. 

Staff Allegations 

4. From August to December, 2007, 

Bob’s held for sale and/or sold various 

quantities of the following children’s 

upper outerwear products with 

drawstrings at the hood or neck: Scope 

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17656 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 

Imports boys’ hooded sweatshirts; and 

Earth Products Adio Champ Custom 

boys’ hooded zip fleece sweatshirts 

(collectively referred to herein as 

‘‘Sweatshirts’’). These Sweatshirts 

identifications correspond to and are 

coextensive with information Bob’s 

reported to the Staff about the 

Sweatshirts. 

5. Bob’s sold Sweatshirts to 

consumers. 

6. The Sweatshirts are ‘‘consumer 

product[s],’’ and, at all times relevant 

hereto, Bob’s was a ‘‘retailer’’ of those 

consumer products, which were 

‘‘distributed in commerce,’’ as those 

terms are defined in CPSA sections 

3(a)(5), (8), and (13), 15 U.S.C. 

2052(a)(5), (8), and (13). 

7. In February 1996, the Staff issued 

the Guidelines for Drawstrings on 

Children’s Upper Outerwear 

(‘‘Guidelines’’) to help prevent children 

from strangling or entangling on neck 

and waist drawstrings. The Guidelines 

state that drawstrings can cause, and 

have caused, injuries and deaths when 

they catch on items such as playground 

equipment, bus doors, or cribs. In the 

Guidelines, the Staff recommends that 

there be no hood and neck drawstrings 

in children’s upper outerwear sized 2T 

to 12. 

8. In June 1997, ASTM adopted a 

voluntary standard, ASTM F1816–97, 

that incorporated the Guidelines. The 

Guidelines state that firms should be 

aware of the hazards and should be sure 

garments they sell conform to the 

voluntary standard. 

9. On May 19, 2006, the Commission 

posted on its Web site a letter from the 

Commission’s Director of the Office of 

Compliance to manufacturers, 

importers, and retailers of children’s 

upper outerwear. The letter urges them 

to make certain that all children’s upper 

outerwear sold in the United States 

complies with ASTM F1816–97. The 

letter states that the Staff considers 

children’s upper outerwear with 

drawstrings at the hood or neck area to 

be defective and to present a substantial 

risk of injury to young children under 

Federal Hazardous Substances Act 

(‘‘FHSA’’) section 15(c), 15 U.S.C. 

1274(c). The letter also notes the CPSA’s 

section 15(b) reporting requirements. 

10. Bob’s informed the Commission 

that there had been no incidents or 

injuries from the Sweatshirts. 

11. Bob’s distribution in commerce of 

the Sweatshirts did not meet the 

Guidelines or ASTM F1816–97, failed to 

comport with the Staff’s May 2006 

defect notice, and posed a strangulation 

hazard to children. 

12. After distribution in commerce, 

recalls were announced regarding the 

Sweatshirts. 

13. Bob’s had presumed an actual 

knowledge that the Sweatshirts 

distributed in commerce posed a 

strangulation hazard and presented a 

substantial risk of injury to children 

under FHSA section 15(c)(1), 15 U.S.C. 

1274(c)(1). Bob’s had obtained 

information that reasonably supported 

the conclusion that the Sweatshirts 

contained a defect that could create a 

substantial product hazard or that they 

created an unreasonable risk of serious 

injury or death. CPSA sections 15(b)(3) 

and (4), 15 U.S.C. 2064(b)(3) and (4), 

required Bob’s to immediately inform 

the Commission of the defect and risk. 

14. Bob’s knowingly failed to 

immediately inform the Commission 

about the Sweatshirts as required by 

CPSA sections 15(b)(3) and (4), 15 

U.S.C. 2064(b)(3) and (4), and as the 

term ‘‘knowingly’’ is defined in CPSA 

section 20(d), 15 U.S.C. 2069(d). This 

failure violated CPSA section 19(a)(4), 

15 U.S.C. 2068(a)(4). Pursuant to CPSA 

section 20, 15 U.S.C. 2069, this failure 

subjected Bob’s to civil penalties. 

Bob’s Response 

15. Bob’s denies the Staff’s allegations 

set forth above, including, but not 

limited to, any allegation that Bob’s 

failed timely to notify the Commission 

in accordance with section 15 of the 

CPSA. 

16. Bob’s requires that its vendors 

represent and warrant that all products 

sold to Bob’s comply with all applicable 

regulations, standards and 

requirements. 

17. Bob’s promptly notified the 

Commission pursuant to section 15 of 

the CPSA without first being contacted 

by the Commission upon verifying that 

certain garments contained drawstrings 

at the hood or neck. 

18. Bob’s fully cooperated with the 

Commission in providing information 

necessary for the Commission to 

determine, with the vendor, whether a 

recall was warranted and whether the 

vendor had sold affected garments to 

any other retailers. 

19. Bob’s has entered into the 

Agreement for settlement purposes only, 

to avoid incurring additional expenses 

and the distraction of litigation. The 

Agreement and Order do not constitute 

and are not evidence of any fault or 

wrongdoing by Bob’s. 

Agreement of the Parties 

20. Under the CPSA, the Commission 

has jurisdiction over this matter and 

over Bob’s. 

21. The parties enter into the 

Agreement for settlement purposes only. 

The Agreement does not constitute an 

admission by Bob’s, or a determination 

by the Commission, that Bob’s 

knowingly violated the CPSA. 

22. In settlement of the Staff’s 

allegations, Bob’s shall pay a civil 

penalty in the amount of fifty-five 

thousand dollars ($55,000.00) within 

twenty (20) calendar days of service of 

the Commission’s final Order accepting 

the Agreement. The payment shall be by 

check payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury. 

23. Upon provisional acceptance of 

the Agreement, the Agreement shall be 

placed on the public record and 

published in the Federal Register in 

accordance with the procedures set 

forth in 16 CFR 1118.20(e). In 

accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20(f), if 

the Commission does not receive any 

written request not to accept the 

Agreement within fifteen (15) calendar 

days, the Agreement shall be deemed 

finally accepted on the sixteenth (16th) 

calendar day after the date it is 

published in the Federal Register. 

24. Upon the Commission’s final 

acceptance of the Agreement and 

issuance of the final Order, Bob’s 

knowingly, voluntarily, and completely 

waives any rights it may have in this 

matter to the following: (1) An 

administrative or judicial hearing; (2) 

judicial review or other challenge or 

contest of the validity of the Order or of 

the Commission’s actions; (3) a 

determination by the Commission of 

whether Bob’s failed to comply with the 

CPSA and its underlying regulations; (4) 

a statement of findings of fact and 

conclusions of law; and (5) any claims 

under the Equal Access to Justice Act. 

25. The Commission may publicize 

the terms of the Agreement and the 

Order. 

26. The Agreement and the Order 

shall apply to, and be binding upon, 

Bob’s and each of its successors and 

assigns. 

27. The Commission issues the Order 

under the provisions of the CPSA, and 

violation of the Order may subject Bob’s 

to appropriate legal action. 

28. The Agreement may be used in 

interpreting the Order. Understandings, 

agreements, representations, or 

interpretations apart from those 

contained in the Agreement and the 

Order may not be used to vary or 

contradict their terms. The Agreement 

shall not be waived, amended, 

modified, or otherwise altered without 

written agreement thereto executed by 

the party against whom such waiver, 

amendment, modification, or alteration 

is sought to be enforced. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 17657 

29. If any provision of the Agreement 

and the Order is held to be illegal, 

invalid, or unenforceable under present 

or future laws effective during the terms 

of the Agreement and the Order, such 

provision shall be fully severable. The 

balance of the Agreement and the Order 

shall remain in full force and effect, 

unless the Commission and Bob’s agree 

that severing the provision materially 

affects the purpose of the Agreement 

and the Order. 

Bob’s Stores Corp. 

Dated: March 2, 2009. 

By: 

Kelly Toussaint, 

President, Bob’s Stores Corp., 160 Corporate 

Court, Meriden, CT 06450. 

Dated: March 5, 2009. 

By: 

Eric A. Rubel, Esq., 

Arnold & Porter LLP, 555 12th Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20004–1206, Counsel for 

Bob’s Stores Corp. 

U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION STAFF. 

Cheryl A. Falvey, 

General Counsel. 

Ronald G. Yelenik, 

Assistant General Counsel, Division of 

Compliance, Office of the General Counsel. 

Dated: March 6, 2009. 

By: 

Seth B. Popkin, 

Lead Trial Attorney, Division of Compliance, 

Office of the General Counsel. 

Order 

Upon consideration of the Settlement 

Agreement entered into between Bob’s 

Stores Corp. (‘‘Bob’s’’) and the U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) staff, and the 

Commission having jurisdiction over 

the subject matter and over Bob’s, and 

it appearing that the Settlement 

Agreement and the Order are in the 

public interest, it is 

Ordered, that the Settlement 

Agreement be, and hereby is, accepted; 

and it is 

Further ordered, that Bob’s shall pay 

a civil penalty in the amount of fifty-five 

thousand dollars ($55,000.00) within 

twenty (20) calendar days of service of 

the Commission’s final Order accepting 

the Agreement. The payment shall be 

made by check payable to the order of 

the United States Treasury. Upon the 

failure of Bob’s to make the foregoing 

payment when due, interest on the 

unpaid amount shall accrue and be paid 

by Bob’s at the federal legal rate of 

interest set forth at 28 U.S.C. 1961(a) 

and (b). 

Provisionally accepted and provisional 

Order issued on the 8th day of April, 2009. 

BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. E9–8727 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0008] 

Retco, Inc., Provisional Acceptance of 

a Settlement Agreement and Order 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: It is the policy of the 

Commission to publish settlements 

which it provisionally accepts under the 

Consumer Product Safety Act in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published 

below is a provisionally-accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Retco, Inc., 

containing a civil penalty of $45,000.00. 

DATES: Any interested person may ask 

the Commission not to accept this 

agreement or otherwise comment on its 

contents by filing a written request with 

the Office of the Secretary by May 1, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 09–C0008, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Renee K. Haslett, Trial Attorney, 

Division of Compliance, Office of the 

General Counsel, Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408; telephone (301) 504–7673. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

Dated: April 9, 2009. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

Settlement Agreement 

1. In accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20, 

Retco Inc. (‘‘Retco’’) and the staff 

(‘‘Staff’’) of the United States Consumer 

Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) enter into this 

Settlement Agreement (‘‘Agreement’’). 

The Agreement and the incorporated 

attached Order (‘‘Order’’) settle the 

Staff’s allegations set forth below. 

Parties 

2. The Commission is an independent 

federal regulatory agency established 

pursuant to, and responsible for the 

enforcement of, the Consumer Product 

Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2051–2089 

(‘‘CPSA’’). 

3. Retco is a corporation organized 

and existing under the laws of Colorado, 

with its principal offices located in 

Breckenridge, Colorado. At all times 

relevant hereto, Retco sold apparel. 

Staff Allegations 

4. From at least September 2005 to 

May 2008, Retco held for sale and/or 

sold children’s hooded sweatshirts and 

jackets with drawstrings at the hood or 

neck, which were later recalled on 

August 28, 2008 (‘‘Garments’’). 

5. Retco sold Garments to consumers. 

6. The Garments are ‘‘consumer 

product[s],’’ and, at all times relevant 

hereto, Retco was a ‘‘retailer’’ of those 

consumer products, which were 

‘‘distributed in commerce,’’ as those 

terms are defined in CPSA sections 

3(a)(5), (8), and (13), 15 U.S.C. 

2052(a)(5), (8), and (13). 

7. In February 1996, the Staff issued 

the Guidelines for Drawstrings on 

Children’s Upper Outerwear 

(‘‘Guidelines’’) to help prevent children 

from strangling or entangling on neck 

and waist drawstrings. The Guidelines 

state that drawstrings can cause, and 

have caused, injuries and deaths when 

they catch on items such as playground 

equipment, bus doors, or cribs. In the 

Guidelines, the Staff recommends that 

there be no hood and neck drawstrings 

in children’s upper outerwear sized 2T 

to 12. 

8. In June 1997, ASTM adopted a 

voluntary standard, ASTM F1816–97, 

that incorporated the Guidelines. The 

Guidelines state that firms should be 

aware of the hazards and should be sure 

garments they sell conform to the 

voluntary standard. 

9. On May 19, 2006, the Commission 

posted on its Web site a letter from the 

Commission’s Director of the Office of 

Compliance to manufacturers, 

importers, and retailers of children’s 

upper outerwear. The letter urges them 

to make certain that all children’s upper 

outerwear sold in the United States 

complies with ASTM F1816–97. The 

letter states that the Staff considers 

children’s upper outerwear with 

drawstrings at the hood or neck area to 

be defective and to present a substantial 

risk of injury to young children under 

Federal Hazardous Substances Act 

(‘‘FHSA’’) section 15(c), 15 U.S.C. 

1274(c). The letter also notes the CPSA’s 

section 15(b) reporting requirements. 

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