6712 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2008 / Notices 

days before the meeting date. Dated in 

Washington DC, 29 January 2008. 

Thomas Luebke, 

AIA, Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 08–482 Filed 2–4–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6330–01–M 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 08–C0003] 

Vornado Liquidating Trust for and on 

Behalf of Vornado Air Circulation 

Systems, Inc., a Trust, 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 is provisionally accepts under 

the Consumer Product Safety Act in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e0). Published 

below is a provisionally-accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Vornado 

Liquidating Trust for and on behalf of 

Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., a 

Trust, containing a civil penalty of 

$500,000. 

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 February 

20, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 08–C0003, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814–

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ronald G. Yelnik, Trial Attorney, Office 

of Compliance and Field Operations, 

Consumer Product Safety Commission, 

4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, 

Maryland 20814–4408; telephone (301) 

504–7582. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

Dated: January 30, 2008. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

United States of America Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, CPSC 

Docket No. 08–C0003 

In the Matter of Vornado Liquidating 

Trust for and on Behalf of Vornado Air 

Circulation Systems, Inc. a Trust 

Settlement Agreement and Order 

1. This Settlement Agreement is made 

by and between the staff (the ‘‘staff’’) of 

the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) and 

the Vornado Liquidating Trust, a trust 

acting for and on behalf of Vornado Air 

Circulation Systems, Inc., a dissolved 

Kansas corporation, and established for 

the sole benefit of the corporation’s 

shareholders, in accordance with 16 

CFR 1118.20 of the Commission’s 

Procedures for Investigations, 

Inspections, and Inquiries under the 

Consumer Product Safety Act (‘‘CPSA’’). 

This Settlement Agreement and the 

incorporated attached Order resolve the 

staff’s allegations set forth below. 

The Parties 

2. The Commission is an independent 

federal regulatory agency responsible for 

the enforcement of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 

2051–2084. 

3. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, 

Inc. was a corporation organized and 

existing under the laws of the State of 

Kansas, with its principal corporate 

office located in Andover, Kansas. On 

December 29, 2006, Vornado Air 

Circulation Systems, Inc. ceased 

operations and sold most of its 

operating assets to a private equity 

group which formed a new company, 

Vornado Air LLC, a Delaware company. 

Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc.’s 

remaining assets and its proceeds from 

the asset sale were assigned to the 

Vornado Liquidating Trust, which was 

established as of December 29, 2006, for 

the purpose of satisfying Vornado Air 

Circulation Systems Inc.’s remaining 

liabilities, including the claims asserted 

by the Commission which are the 

subject of this Settlement Agreement. 

Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc. 

was legally dissolved in September 

2007. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, 

Inc. and the Vornado Liquidating Trust 

are hereinafter referred to collectively as 

‘‘Vornado’’ or the ‘‘firm.’’

4. At all times relevant herein, 

Vornado designed, manufactured and 

sold portable electric heaters, including 

those that are the subject of this 

Settlement Agreement and Order. 

Staff Allegations 

5. Between July 1991 and January 

2004, Vornado manufactured and sold 

approximately one million of the subject 

portable electric heaters, model 

numbers 180VH , Intellitemp , EVH  

(collectively, ‘‘Heaters’’ or ‘‘Products’’), 

which were sold at retailers and 

distributors nationwide as well as 

through Vornado’s Web site, for 

between $50 and $120. 

6. The Heaters are ‘‘consumer 

product(s)’’ and, at the times relevant 

herein, Vornado was a ‘‘manufacturer’’

of ‘‘consumer product(s),’’ which were 

‘‘distributed in commerce’’ as those 

terms are defined or used in sections 

3(a)(1), (4), (11) and (12) of the CPSA, 

15 USC 2052(a)(1), (4), (11) and (12). 

7. The Heaters are defective because 

a faulty electrical connection can cause 

the Product to overheat and stop 

working, thereby posing a fire hazard to 

consumers. More specifically, certain of 

the Heaters are defective and pose a fire 

hazard to consumers because they 

contain a faulty crimp involving 

insulated connectors (‘‘quick 

connects’’), a flaw which can cause the 

Heaters to overheat. 

8. Vornado received its first report of 

an overheating incident in January 1993. 

By the end of 1993, Vornado knew of at 

least 22 reports of Heater incidents 

involving melting, smoking, burning, 

actual fire or the emission of flame. 

9. On or about October 27, 1997, 

Vornado changed the design of its 

Heaters to incorporate insulated quick 

connects on the white wires between 

the heating element and the switch. The 

redesigned Heaters were sold from the 

fall of 1998 through 2003. 

10. Although Vornado had received 

reports of Products overheating prior to 

the design change described in 

paragraph 9, the firm asserts that this 

design change caused the faulty crimp 

problem which resulted in the majority 

of the overheating incidents that 

eventually came to Its attention. 

11. After implementing the design 

change in question, Vornado received 

many reports of over-heating incidents 

with the Heaters, some of which 

involved fires and the emission of 

flames. These reports continued for 

several years thereafter. 

12. Despite being aware of the 

information set forth in paragraphs 5 

through 11, Vornado did not report to 

the Commission about the overheating 

issue involving the heaters until 

February 20, 2004, and even then only 

when requested to do so by the 

Commission staff. 

13. By the time of its February 20, 

2004 report to the CPSC, Vornado was 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2008 / Notices 6713 

aware of at least 300 reports of 

overheating incidents involving the 

subject Heaters. More than 100 of these 

incident reports involved Heaters 

catching fire and/or emitting flames, 

while the remainder related to units 

burning, melting and smoking. 

14. Although Vornado had obtained 

sufficient information to reasonably 

support the conclusion that the Heaters 

contained a defect which could create a 

substantial product hazard, or created 

an unreasonable risk of serious injury or 

death, it failed to inform the 

Commission of such defect or risk as 

required by sections 15(b)(2) and (3) of 

the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2064(b)(2) and (3). 

In failing to do so, Vornado 

‘‘knowingly’’ violated section 19(a)(4) of 

the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2068(a)(4), as the 

term ‘‘knowingly’’ is defined in section 

20(d) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2069(d). 

15. Pursuant to section 20 of the 

CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2069, Vornado is 

subject to civil penalties for its failure 

to report as required under section 15(b) 

of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2064(b). 

Response of Vornado 

16. Vornado contests and denies the 

staff’s allegations. Vornado asserts that 

it acted responsibly and reasonably to 

investigate and respond to incident 

reports it received involving the 

Products, including its implementation 

of a successful product recall in 

cooperation with the Commission on 

August 3, 2004. Vornado denies it was 

aware of facts that arguably could have 

given rise to a reporting obligation 

under the CPSA until the time it 

actually filed a report with the 

Commission on February 20, 2004. 

Likewise, the firm denies that any 

alleged violation of the CPSA’s 

reporting requirements was committed 

‘‘knowingly.’’

17. Vornado has entered this 

settlement in order to resolve this claim 

without the expense and distraction of 

litigation. 

Agreement of the Parties 

18. The commission has jurisdiction 

over this matter and over Vornado 

under the CPSs, 15 U.S.C. 2051–2084. 

19. In settlement of the staff’s 

allegations, Vornado agrees to pay a 

civil penalty of five hundred thousand 

dollars ($500,000.00) within twenty (20) 

calendar days of receiving service of the 

Final Order of the Commission 

accepting this Settlement Agreement. 

This payment shall be made by cashier’s 

check payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury. 

20. The parties enter this Settlement 

Agreement for settlement purposes only. 

the Settlement Agreement does not 

constitute an admission by Vornado or 

a determination by the Commission that 

Vornado violated the CPSA’s reporting 

requirements. 

21. Upon provisional acceptance of 

this Settlement Agreement and Order by 

the Commission, the Commission shall 

place this Agreement and Order on the 

public record and shall publish it in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

procedure set forth in 16 CFR 

1118.20(e). If the commission does not 

receive any written requests not to 

accept the Settlement Agreement and 

Order within 15 calendar days, the 

Agreement and Order shall be deemed 

finally accepted on the 16th calendar 

day after the date it is published in the 

Federal Register, in accordance with 16 

CFR 1118.20(f). 

22. Upon final acceptance of this 

Settlement Agreement by the 

Commission and issuance of the Final 

Order, Vornado knowingly, voluntarily 

and completely waives any rights it may 

have in this matter to the following: (i) 

An administrative or judicial hearing; 

(ii) judicial review or other challenge or 

contest of the commission’s actions; (iii) 

a determination by the Commission as 

to whether Vornado failed to comply 

with the CPSA and the underlying 

regulations; (iv) a statement of findings 

of fact and conclusions of law; and (v) 

any claims under the Equal Access to 

Justice Act. 

23. The Commission may publicize 

the terms of the Settlement Agreement 

and Order. 

24. This Settlement Agreement shall 

apply to, and be binding upon Vornado 

and each of its successors and assigns. 

25. The commission’s Order in this 

matter is issued under the provisions of 

the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2051–2084, and a 

violation of the Order may subject those 

referenced in paragraph 24 above to 

appropriate legal action. 

26. This Settlement Agreement may 

be used in interpreting the Order 

Agreements, understandings, 

representations, or interpretations made 

outside of this Settlement Agreement 

and Order may not be used to vary or 

to contradict its terms. 

27. This Settlement Agreement and 

Order shall not be waived, changed, 

amended, modified, or otherwise 

altered, without written agreement 

thereto executed by the party against 

whom such amendment, modification, 

alteration, or waiver is sought to be 

enforced, and approval by the 

Commission. 

28. If, after the effective date hereof, 

any provision of this Settelement 

Agreement and Order is held to be 

illegal, invalid, or unenforceable under 

present or future laws effective during 

the terms of the Settlement Agreement 

and Order, such provision shall be fully 

severable. The rest of the Settlement 

Agreement and Order shall remain in 

full effect, unless the commission and 

Vornado determine that serving the 

provision materially changes the 

purpose of the Settlement Agreement 

and Order. 

The Vornado Liquidating Trust for and 

on Behalf of Vornado Air Circulation 

Systems, Inc. 

Dated: January 14, 2008. 

By: Charles Wear, 

Co-Trustee, 2705 West 112th Street, 

Leawood, Kansas 66211. 

Dated: January 14, 2008. 

By: Kay Reed, 

Co-Trustee, 14021 E. Whitewood, 

Wichita, Kansas 67230. 

Dated: January 15, 2008. 

By Christopher Smith, 

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, 

1301 K Street, NW., Suite 600, East 

Tower, Washington, DC 20005–3364, 

Counsel for the Vornado Liquidating 

Trust. 

U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION. 

John Gibson Mullan, 

Assistant Executive Director, Office of 

Compliance and Field Operations. 

Dated: January 17, 2008. 

By: Ronald G. Yelenik, 

Acting Director, 

M. Reza Malihi, 

Trial Attorney, Legal Division, Office of 

Compliance and Field Operations. 

United States of America Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, CPSC 

Docket No. 08–C0003 

In the Matter of Vornado Liquidating 

Trust for and on Behalf of Vornado Air 

Circulation systems, Inc., a Trust 

Order 

Upon consideration of the Settlement 

Agreement entered into between the 

Vornado Liquidating Trust, a trust 

acting for an on behalf of Vornado Air 

Circulation Systems, Inc., a dissolved 

Kansas corporation, and established for 

the sole benefit of the corporation’s 

shareholders (collectively, ‘‘Vornado’’), 

and the staff of the U.S. Consumer 

Product Safety Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’), and the Commission 

having jurisdiction over the subject 

matter and over Vornado, and it 

appearing the Settlement Agreement is 

in the public interest, it is 

Ordered, that the Settlement 

Agreement be, and hereby is, accepted; 

and it is 

Further ordered, that Vornado shall 

pay a civil penalty in the amount of five 

hundred thousand dollars 


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6714 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2008 / Notices 

($500,000.00). This payment shall be 

made payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury within twenty (20) 

calendar days of service of the Final 

Order of the Commission upon 

Vornado. Upon the failure of Vornado to 

make full payment in the prescribed 

time, interest on the outstanding 

balance shall accrue and be paid at the 

federal rate of interest under the 

provisions of 28 U.S.C. section 1961(a) 

and (b). 

Provisionally accepted and Provisional 

Order issued on the 30th day of January, 

2008. 

By Order of the Commission: 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 08–491 Filed 2–4–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–M 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection Requests 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, 

Regulatory Information Management 

Services, Office of Management, invites 

comments on the proposed information 

collection requests as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before April 7, 

2008. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) provide interested 

Federal agencies and the public an early 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection requests. OMB may amend or 

waive the requirement for public 

consultation to the extent that public 

participation in the approval process 

would defeat the purpose of the 

information collection, violate State or 

Federal law, or substantially interfere 

with any agency’s ability to perform its 

statutory obligations. The IC Clearance 

Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of 

Management, publishes that notice 

containing proposed information 

collection requests prior to submission 

of these requests to OMB. Each 

proposed information collection, 

grouped by office, contains the 

following: (1) Type of review requested, 

e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or 

reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of 

the collection; (4) Description of the 

need for, and proposed use of, the 

information; (5) Respondents and 

frequency of collection; and (6) 

Reporting and/or Recordkeeping 

burden. OMB invites public comment. 

The Department of Education is 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following issues: (1) Is 

this collection necessary to the proper 

functions of the Department; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

Department enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the 

Department minimize the burden of this 

collection on the respondents, including 

through the use of information 

technology. 

Dated: January 30, 2008. 

Angela C. Arrington, 

IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of Management. 

Office of Innovation and Improvement 

Type of Review: New. 

Title: National Writing Project Annual 

Performance Indicators. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

household; Not-for-profit institutions. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour 

Burden: 

Responses: 480. 

Burden Hours: 460. 

Abstract: The purpose is to 

implement a data collection and review 

process for a new annual reporting for 

Government Performance Results Act 

(GPRA) purposes for the National 

Writing Project (NWP) program. These 

data are necessary to assess the 

performance of the NWP program in 

meeting its stated goals and objectives. 

The data collection will occur in phases 

over a 2-year period. Although all EDgrantees are required to provide 

performance data on an annual or 

periodic basis, the respondents for this 

data collection are participants in the 

NWP grant; therefore, their participation 

in the data collection is voluntary. 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, 

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 3445. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

Requests may also be electronically 

mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed 

to 202–401–0920. Please specify the 

complete title of the information 

collection when making your request. 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements 

should be electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339. 

[FR Doc. E8–2067 Filed 2–4–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, 

Regulatory Information Management 

Services, Office of Management invites 

comments on the submission for OMB 

review as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before March 6, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be addressed to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attention: Education Desk Officer, 

Office of Management and Budget, 725 

17th Street, NW., Room 10222, 

Washington, DC 20503. Commenters are 

encouraged to submit responses 

electronically by e-mail to 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or via fax 

to (202) 395–6974. Commenters should 

include the following subject line in 

their response ‘‘Comment: [insert OMB 

number], [insert abbreviated collection 

name, e.g., ‘‘Upward Bound 

Evaluation’’]. Persons submitting 

comments electronically should not 

submit paper copies. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) provide interested 

Federal agencies and the public an early 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection requests. OMB may amend or 

waive the requirement for public 

consultation to the extent that public 

participation in the approval process 

would defeat the purpose of the 

information collection, violate State or 

Federal law, or substantially interfere 

with any agency’s ability to perform its 

statutory obligations. The IC Clearance 

Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of 

Management, publishes that notice 

containing proposed information 

collection requests prior to submission 

of these requests to OMB. Each 

proposed information collection, 


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