2007-03-28 20:41:02 -

NEW YORK and SEATTLE, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- An Italian toy manufacturer today filed a lawsuit against toy giant MEGA Brands Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Rose Art Industries Inc., alleging MEGA Brands ruined the magnetic toy market after one child died and dozens of others were seriously injured as a result of what the suit claims was an unsafe toy design and deceptive advertising.

PlastWood, the manufacturer of the SuperMag magnetic toys, watched its sales plummet after Rose Art's toy Magnetix was blamed for a child's death and

for serious injuries to dozens of other children who swallowed the small magnets which came loose from its toys.

"PlastWood introduced the category of magnetic construction toys in 1999 and we have spent an extraordinary amount of time and money making sure that our toys exceed the highest safety standards," said Edoardo Tusacciu, president and founder of PlastWood. "Regardless of the care we took with our products, we believe the actions of MEGA Brands have led to the death of one child, and injuries to dozens of others.

According to published reports, small and extremely powerful magnets -- about the size of a kernel of corn -- came loose from MEGA Brands' Magnetix toys and were ingested by children, many of which sustained serious injury when the magnets connected while in the children's digestive tracts.

In May 2005, Rose Art Industries learned of the problems with its toy, and was put on notice of a personal injury claim by the family of a 10-year-old child who claimed to have swallowed Magnetix magnets and suffered injury, the complaint states.

In November 2005, Kenny Sweet, a 22-month-old Redmond, Wash. boy died from complications after ingesting eight of the MEGA Brands magnets.

"We believe Rose Art knew of the problem in May of 2005, but continued to market the toy to children until March 2006, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning after the Sweet boy died," said Nick Styant-Browne, the attorney with Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro representing Plastwood.

Despite the warning, MEGA Brands did not pull Magnetix off store shelves or add warnings or package labels to the toy, allowing unwitting consumers to continuing to purchase the toy, according to the complaint.

"It wasn't until October 25, 2006 when MEGA Brand's parent company Rose Art acknowledged the dangers of the toy, and said it had made manufacturing changes to ensure the safety of its product," Styant-Browne noted.

Rose Art's actions did not stem the tide of injury. Last month, a three-year-old Colorado child became ill after ingesting Magnetix magnets, the suit says.

"In our investigation, we have found that many big retailers are continuing to market the old toys alongside the redesigned ostensibly safer version," said Styant-Browne. "We contend that had Rose Art designed a safer product, and advertised it accurately, the magnetic toy market would not have collapsed."

However, according to Tusacciu, the fallout was immediate and severe. "Although our toys were never once cited as dangerous, buyers from across the country began canceling orders."

According to attorney Remo Roscioni, who represents Plastwood's interests in Europe, although the company's toys have all passed rigorous safety testing in Italy and the European Union, the impact of MEGA Brands actions are evident there as well.

Last week, a German newspaper cited a case in which a child ingested a number of magnets and needed surgery to remove them.

"We know conclusively that the child did not ingest magnets from our product, but that did not stop a German newspaper from errantly linking Plastwood to the case," Roscioni said.

Roscioni noted that the magnets removed from the child are the wrong size and composition to be manufactured by Plastwood.

"Nevertheless, buyers and retailers are incorrectly and unjustly concluding there is a problem with Plastwood products," Roscioni added.

The complaint cites a number of public reports about the dangers of Magnetix, including a warning in March 2006 from Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center and Seattle and King County public health officials.

"We have found that the loose magnets are a serious hazard when swallowed. If two or more get into the intestine they can cause severe or fatal injuries," said Dr. Richard Harruff, King County Medical Examiner, in the publicly issued warning.

Shortly thereafter, CPSC announced a voluntary recall of all Magnetix magnetic building sets, citing Sweet's death, and warning that the product was unsuitable for young children. The agency said it knew of 34 other incidents involving small magnets, including four serious injuries involving children from three to eight-years-old.

According to Styant-Browne, retailers and customers alike confused the products. "Parents were returning boxes of PlastWood toys and retailers were pulling them off the shelves."

"A buyer from one of the big-box retailers told PlastWood they were canceling a multi-million dollar order as a direct reaction to the Magnetix issue," Styant-Browne said. "When PlastWood explained the difference between the products, the buyer said 'we don't care, they are all magnetic toys.'"

The economic impact to Plastwood has been severe, the complaint cites. In addition to the profound economic loss, the factory, which is located in rural Sardinia, Italy, has been forced to lay off nearly one-third of its workforce.

"We regard our employees differently than anywhere in the world," Tusacciu said. "When I tell someone at my factory we need to send them home, it hurts, especially since we've done nothing to deserve this."

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court's Western Washington District in Seattle.

About PlastWood Corporation

PlastWood Corporation is a U.S. company and a subsidiary of PlastWood s.r.l., a privately held, family-owned company, based in Sardinia, Italy. The company was founded in 1999 and has subsidiaries and representative offices across the globe. PlastWood is committed to designing safe and innovative toys that stimulate creativity and imagination.

About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro

The law firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is based in Seattle with offices in Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Since the firm's founding in 1993, it has developed a nationally recognized practice in class-action and complex litigation. Among recent successes, HBSS has negotiated a pending $300 million settlement as lead counsel in the DRAM memory antitrust litigation; a $340 million recovery on behalf of Enron employees which is awaiting distribution; a $150 million settlement involving charges of illegally inflated charges for the drug Lupron, and served as co-counsel on the Visa/Mastercard litigation which resulted in a $3 billion settlement, the largest anti-trust settlement to date. HBSS also served as counsel in an $850 million settlement in the Washington Public Power Supply litigation and represented Washington and 12 other states in lawsuits against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in the history of litigation. For a complete listing of HBSS cases, visit http://www.hbsslaw.com/.

About Studio Roscioni & Partners

Studio Roscioni & Partners is a business-focused law firm with offices worldwide. The majority of the firm's clients are multinational and transnational companies, industrial or commercial, building contractors or investment companies, which have led the firm to establish strong and valuable professional ties in Europe and the rest of the world.

About Osborn Machler

The attorneys at Osborn Machler represent plaintiffs in personal injury, products liability, and professional malpractice cases. The firm represents injured passengers and crew in airplane and helicopter accidents through its aviation law practice. Osborn Machler is noted for accepting difficult cases and successfully taking them to settlement or trial. The firm has extensive experience representing injured persons against federal, state, and local governments. Because of the firm's litigation experience, Osborn Machler is frequently called upon to prepare large cases for litigation. Attorneys at the firm also represent clients in personal injury, premises liability, railroad, professional malpractice and maritime cases.

CONTACT: Mark Firmani (206) 443-9357 Firmani + Associates Inc. mark@firmani.com

Source: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro