Alarmed that CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and Planet Toys, Inc. have refused to take appropriate action, Public Justice has filed state and federal lawsuits to force the companies to protect children and their families from further exposure to asbestos contained in toy science kits made by Planet Toys and licensed by CBS. The toy kits are based on the popular "CSI" television drama series, and tests of the kits' fingerprinting powder found tremolite, one of the most deadly forms of asbestos.
  
Public Justice's federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that CBS and Planet Toys were negligent in their quality control measures and that they made consumers believe the toys were appropriate playthings for children when, in fact, the toys contained a hazardous and potentially lethal carcinogen. Because the toys were sold nationwide, the lawsuit is brought on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased or acquired the toys.
  
"This should be a no-brainer, said Victoria Ni, the lead Public Justice attorney in both cases. "The facts are that even small quantities of asbestos are hazardous when inhaled, that the fingerprinting powder has been found to contain asbestos, and that this powder has been marketed and sold to thousands of children who are told to spread it around and blow off the excess. It's a shame that we've had to resort to litigation to force these companies to do what they should have done in the first place to protect the American public."
  
Among other things, the class action asks that the defendants provide refunds to consumers, pay for asbestos testing of toys that have been opened, and pay for appropriate medical treatment for consumers who have been exposed to asbestos.
  
A second suit was filed in California state court, citing violations of a state law known as "Proposition 65," which requires businesses to give a "clear and reasonable warning" to California consumers if a product contains a chemical known to cause cancer or birth defects, such as asbestos.
  
The Proposition 65 complaint was filed, in part, on behalf of the California-based Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which first publicly reported the presence of asbestos in the CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM  Fingerprint Examination Kit last November. The discovery was the result of independent laboratory tests on an array of consumer goods and toys, including the popular fingerprinting kit. ADAO commissioned the study.
  
Further investigation found that the fingerprinting powder containing asbestos was also in other "CSI" toy kits - the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation^TM  Field Kit and the CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM  Forensic Lab Kit.
  
"Our pleas for the companies to do the right thing have fallen on deaf ears," said Linda Reinstein, ADAO Executive Director. "It is unacceptable and unnecessary to have asbestos in toys, and especially in powder form, its most dangerous state. Most Americans falsely believe asbestos has been banned, but our recent product testing results prove asbestos remains a threat to public health." Reinstein's husband died from mesothelioma, a form of cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.
  
Both lawsuits name CBS, Planet Toys, and major retailers of the toy, some of whom continue to sell the kits. The Proposition 65 lawsuit seeks civil penalties for violations of the law, in addition to injunctive relief. 
  
The dangers of asbestos exposure have been well documented by scientists, doctors, and environmentalists since the 1970s. There is no known safe level of exposure.  If inhaled, microscopic asbestos particles can penetrate lung tissue and stay there permanently, causing serious, even deadly, respiratory illnesses or cancer than might not manifest until decades after initial exposure.
  
Gregory Sheffer of Brayton Purcell LLP in Novato, Calif., and Raphael Metzger of the Metzger Law Group in Long Beach, Calif., are assisting Public Justice as co-lead counsel in the Proposition 65 lawsuit.  John J. Stoia, Jr. of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP in San Diego, Calif., and Edith M. Kallas of Whatley, Drake & Kallas, LLC in New York, NY are leading Public Justice's litigation team in the federal lawsuit.  Counsel in the class action lawsuit also include Alan R. Brayton and Peter Fredman of Brayton Purcell LLP; Rachel Jensen, Phong Tran, and Thomas O'Reardon II of Coughlin Stoia; and Joe R. Whatley, Jr., Joseph P. Guglielmo, and Elizabeth Rosenberg of Whatley, Drake.
  
Like Ni, Arthur Bryant, Executive Director of Public Justice, and Gregory Sheffer of Brayton Purcell are co-counsel in both cases.

To read the complaint filed in California under "Proposition 65," click here.

To read the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers, click here.

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