Goins Law Tag

Build-A-Bear not built-a-properly

Mom and Dad, if your child has a Build-A-Bear Starbrights Dragon, take it away from them right now. And while it’ll probably break their tiny hearts, they will thank you for it when they’re older.

The folks at Build-A-Bear Workshop issued a recall Thursday for the dragon, one of its most beloved, one-of-a-kind plushables. It seems what may be your child’s favorite toy is also a safety risk because a defect causes the satin seam to open. This poses a hazard for young children who may choke on the stuffing. Build-A-Bear sold almost 35,000 dragons in the United States and Canada between April and August of last year, alone.

In case you haven’t heard of Build-A-Bear, it’s a plush toy manufacturer based in Overland, Kansas which provides a highly interactive assembly process for the consumer (the kids).  There are more than 400 “workshops” worldwide operating in 19 countries. Noted for craftsmanship, Build-A-Bear posted a total revenue of $379 million in FY 2013.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission wants adults to immediately take the dragon and return it to the nearest Build-A-Bear store, where they will receive a voucher for any stuffed animal. Thankfully, no adverse incidents were reported as of yet, but you can’t be too careful when it comes to your kids or their toys.

The holidays are fast approaching and its news like this you can use to make sound decisions. Goins Law is here not only to present a problem, but provide solutions. If you or someone you know needs information or guidance regarding a product recall, GET GOINS. Remember, GOINS GOT YOU.

Deflategate

The NFL and its players have always been inundated with legal issues since its inception. From copyright to morality clauses, the legal issues of the league are almost as prevalent as the athletics. On another note, it’s funny how the laws of our judicial system has to sometimes rely on the laws of nature. For instance, look at this “Deflategate” issue.

If you’re a fan of the New England Patriots, surely you’d like the rest of the world – especially National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell – to put Deflategate behind and move on to possibly another championship. But football fans should be able to relate to and learn from the legalities of this case. Ponder on these for a minute:

1. QUARTERBACK SNEAK – Tom Brady is famous for his four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVP awards and marriage to his Brazilian supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen. But he will go down in history for his “quarterback sneak” and yardage gained, if you will, against Goodell. You see, Goodell suspended Brady for four games for his alleged role in the scandal. Brady fought back like Doug Flutie did in 1984 with that last-second Hail Mary against the University of Miami. Brady used the Scales of Justice to get the ruling overturned and the rest, as they say, is history.

2. UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS – Now there’s the possible question as to whether Goodell unfairly punished Brady. This could call for further legal ramifications; so much so, the commissioner is considering leaving the crime and punishment department to a separate counsel. And then, there may be another investigation into Spygate, the Patriots alleged spying of teams. What gives Goodell so much insight and leeway to lay the legal smackdown, you ask? Well, none, except the fact he’s commissioner. By the way, his background is economics.

3. PASS INTERFERENCE – Finally, whatever Goodell thought he had for Brady, it was broken up by Judge Richard M. Berman of the U.S. District Court – Southern District. Berman didn’t rule on whether Brady had a role in Deflategate. He ruled on the NFL’s authority to suspend Brady, based on the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the National Football League Players Association. So technically, unless you’re a Patriots fan or Brady loyalist, the jury is still out on whether the quarterback knew the footballs had a change in pressure.

It’s all in the can…

For some of us, a great tuna salad sandwich makes for a perfect snack, lunch or even dinner (if you’re up for that sort of thing). But if you’ve been paying attention to the news, the tuna industry has been taking all sorts of hits. And now with underfilled cans, old Charlie Tuna has been getting canned by consumers.

But alas, there’s hope. If you are a tuna lover, you can either get cash or cans. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, if you’ve purchased one of more cans of StarKist tuna between Feb. 19, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2014, you are entitled to either $25 cash or $50 in cold, hard tuna.

You see, California resident Patrick Hendricks took Charlie Tuna to court in a class action lawsuit when he sensed something fishy with their shortage of tuna in 5-ounce cans. StarKist agreed to the settlement “to stay focused on our core mission of providing healthy and delicious seafood to our consumers,” a company spokeswoman said when the settlement was announced in May. He alleged in the Northern District of California suit that testing showed cans were underfilled.

And you know they admitted no wrongdoing (despite Hendrick’s claim that testing showed underfilled cans), but a $12 million settlement fund was set up to include $8 million earmarked for cash payments and $4 million for tuna, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported at that time.

Of course, you may not have your receipt. Your claim may still be honored. But don’t lie to kick it. That would be perjury. And though this blog entry is about class action lawsuits (which Goins Law does), we’d hate to get that call to represent you as a defendant. So just go and check out the settlement website about claiming a refund.

I feel this case represents how the “little man” took on a big industry and came out the big fish. Many of you may have had that proverbial can of tuna and just thought you were getting played or never considered the weight. But Patrick Hendricks thought outside the box and got the law on his side. If you feel you are being played by any company, big or small, Goins Law has the expertise to look out for you. Whether it’s tuna or sharks, we got you.