China-Made Tires Are Subject
Of Lawsuit After Fatal Accident
By TIMOTHY AEPPEL
June 25, 2007 2:16 p.m.
A recent lawsuit arising from a fatal auto accident in Pennsylvania is pointing toward another potentially hazardous Chinese import, this time tires.
The accident occurred last August, when a steel-belted radial on a cargo van carrying four passengers allegedly experienced a tread separation -- the type of problem that prompted the big Firestone recall of 2000 -- causing the driver to loose control and crash. Two passengers were killed, the two others injured, one severely.
The tire's U.S. distributor -- Foreign Tire Sales Inc. of Union, N.J., says that it discovered a safety feature it had specifically asked the manufacturer to include was omitted from up to 450,000 of the tires imported from China's Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. since 2002. FTS has notified federal safety officials that a recall may be necessary and that it believes other U.S. distributors have been selling identical tires, which could account for up to another half a million tires.
Unlike other potential recalls involving tire makers with a major presence in the U.S., this case involves a Chinese manufacturer selling through U.S. distributors and raises questions about the effectiveness of U.S. safety regulations as they relate to such imports.
FTS says it doesn't have the resources to pay for the recall itself and that it can't even clearly identify the specific tires because the Chinese manufacturer has failed to provide the distributor with the identification numbers of the tires that were manufactured with the missing safety feature.
"Sooner or later there'll be a recall on these tires -- the $64,000,000-question is who pays for it," says Lawrence Lavigne, an attorney representing FTS in a suit filed in district court in New Jersey against Hangzhou. In its suit, FTS accuses the tire maker of removing the safety feature -- a six millimeter layer of rubber that is put between the steel belts to give the tires added durability -- without notifying the distributor.
Mr. Lavigne says FTS suspected a problem as early as 2005, when it noticed a significant increase in claims from consumers for compensation. This typically arises when consumers are unsatisfied with the performance of a tire and return it for a refund or replacement. He contends the Chinese manufacturer initially insisted the tires were built to the specifications and only much later admitted the change.
There has been at least one other accident involving an ambulance, which didn't result in injuries, and a host of claims for compensation from consumers who had problems with the tires.
An official of Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. reached late Monday evening in China said: "We are aware of this matter and we are now in the process of responding to the lawsuit. Production and sales at our company remain normal."
The problem comes in the wake of several other high-profile safety problems with Chinese products, including the discovery of lead paint on children's toys and hazardous material in Chinese-made toothpaste. In this case, FTS is the "importer of record" for the tires, which makes them responsible for making sure the tires meet U.S. requirements.
Adding a layer of complexity is the fact that the tires meet minimal U.S. safety requirements, according to FTS. The distributor notes that it often demands additional features to make tires more durable than the requirements.
"We saw during the Ford Explorer-Firestone tire scandal how deadly a defective tire can be, especially if it is paired with a light truck," says Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, a consumer group that works closely with plaintiff attorneys on a variety of automotive issues.
Write to Timothy Aeppel at timothy.aeppel@wsj.com