Monday, May 18, 2009

California Personal Injury Lawyers Seek Key Evidence in Coleman Defective Product Case

A California Appeals Court will decide on Tuesday whether a trial judge was right in ordering the release of key documents that may show whether Coleman knowingly violated a California statute, Health and Safety Code Section 19881. The law firm of Bisnar | Chase (www.bisnarchase.com) is bringing the action against Coleman, and the hearing will take place at 1 p.m. in the Fourth District, Court of Appeals, Division Three at 925 North Spurgeon Street in Santa Ana, California.

Orange County, CA (PRWEB) May 18, 2009 -- A California Appeals Court will decide on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, whether a trial judge was right in ordering the release of key documents that may show whether Coleman knowingly violated a California statute, Health and Safety Code Section 19881. The law firm of Bisnar | Chase (www.bisnarchase.com) is bringing the action against Coleman, and the hearing will take place at 1 p.m. in the Fourth District, Court of Appeals, Division Three at 925 North Spurgeon Street in Santa Ana, California.

"We're representing the family of a 9-year-old boy who was severely burned by a faulty propane heater," said Orange Orange County personal injury attorney Brian Chase, a partner at Bisnar | Chase. The lawsuit, filed against camping equipment manufacturer Coleman, alleges that the company knew the propane heater was faulty since they had received previous complaints, warranty claims, incidents and fires. Brian Chase adds, "In spite of this knowledge, Coleman still manufactured and sold the propane heater, putting profits ahead of people."

We're representing the family of a 9-year-old boy who was severely burned by a faulty propane heater
9-Year-Old Boy Suffers Severe Personal Injury

On December 30, 2005, Trevor Dennis and his parents were camping at the Octillo Wells Desert Recreation area. Early that evening, Trevor retired to their camping trailer, which was being heated by a Model 5053 ProCat™ PefecTemp™ Coleman propane heater. Later that evening, the heater malfunctioned which caused the trailer to burst into flames with Trevor inside. Most of the trailer was destroyed and Trevor sustained severe burns over much of his body. His resulting injuries will require extensive ongoing medical care.

"This appears to be a case of a manufacturer using a faulty design, sub-par critical parts and inadequate quality control leading to the catastrophic injury of a then 7-year-old boy," said Orange County personal injury lawyer John Bisnar, founding partner of the Bisnar | Chase law firm.

"When the family bought the heater, it was packaged in a box showing its use in a house with a mom holding a baby on her lap," noted Brian Chase. "The statute clearly states that non-vented portable heaters cannot be sold for use indoors. On the side of the box, and on top of the box, the copy indicated that it was safe for home use."

Product is Repackaged

After the family purchased the heater, Coleman repackaged the product in a new box with the picture of the mom and the toddler removed and without the previous language on the side of the box saying the heater could be used indoors. Curiously, the wording was still on the top of the box. Shortly after that, Coleman removed the offending copy on top of the box.

The Sacramento District Attorney's office had received reports of illegal heater sales in violation of Health and Safety Code Section 19881. The DA's office sent a letter to Home Depot recommending that they not violate California law. Home Depot complied, but Brian Chase asserts there is evidence and inferences from that evidence that Coleman hired outside attorneys to help their in-house counsel with this issue to circumvent the California statute.

"One Coleman employee admitted in a deposition that the reason Coleman changed the pictures on the box was that the heater violated a California law," said Brian Chase. "After that, we learned about the Sacramento DA's letter and the health and safety statute. Bisnar | Chase then requested that Coleman provide any and all documents in their possession that would shed light on why the packaging on the box was changed to omit references that the heater was safe for home use. Coleman refused to turn over any documents between Coleman and their attorneys regarding the circumvention of the California statute, because Coleman insisted these were privileged."

Bisnar | Chase attorneys obtained a privilege log that itemized the Coleman documents, which Coleman refused to turn over to the law firm.

Orange County Product Liability Attorneys Take Action

Product liability lawyers at Bisnar | Chase insist that inferences could be drawn from the communications that Coleman was seeking the aid of outside attorneys in an attempt to plan to commit a crime or a fraud. "We feel we're entitled to these documents because the crime/fraud exception nullifies their privilege protection," noted Brian Chase. Bisnar | Chase then motioned the court to compel Coleman to release those documents.

A referee judge, after evaluating their materials, found sufficient evidence that Colman may have engaged the services of lawyers to plan and attempt to commit a crime or fraud in this case to circumvent the statute prohibiting the sale of the Coleman heater in question. The court then ordered Coleman to produce the documents. Coleman appealed and the hearing on Tuesday in the Court of Appeals will decide whether the trial judge was right in ordering the release of the documents.

The California Appeals Court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2009, case number G041634. The case is also pending in the Superior Court of the State of California, Orange County, case number 30-2007 00100173. A trial date has been set for June 23, 2009.

About Bisnar Chase

Bisnar Chase is an Orange County, California, personal injury law firm that represents people who have been very seriously injured or lost a family member due to an accident, defective product or negligence. The law firm has won a wide variety of challenging personal injury and defective product cases, involving car accidents, on-the-job accidents, dog attacks and defective products made by Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit www.bisnarchase.com and www.californiainjuryblog.com.

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