On September 25, 2007, a class action lawsuit was filed in Minneapolis against Simplicity, Inc., Target Corporation, and Graco Children’s Products, Inc. seeking damages for owners of recalled cribs.

On September 21, 2007, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the largest recall of full-sized cribs ever. Approximately 1 million Simplicity cribs sold between 1998 and 2007 were recalled as a result of pressure from a Chicago Tribune investigation into three infant deaths, seven entrapments and 55 other incidents related to product and design defects.

The lawsuit names Simplicity, the manufacturer of the recalled cribs, Target Corp., the retail chain that sold the cribs, and Graco Children’s Products Inc., which licensed its name to Simplicity for some of the recalled cribs. The lawsuit alleges that Simplicity Inc. should have adequately warned consumers of the risks and dangers involved in using the recalled cribs or removed them from the market.

The lawsuit was filed by a product liability attorney representing the family of Liam Johns. Liam was a nine month old boy who died in April 2005 after suffocating in his Simplicity crib. According to police reports and the lawsuit filed by the family, one end of the drop rail on Liam’s crib had come off track. Liam either rolled or slid feet-first into the opening, causing his head to be caught between the rail and the mattress.

Source: Maurice Possley, “Lawsuit filed against crib manufacturers,” Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2007.