Fisher-Price reaches $19M class action settlement over recalled Rock ‘n Play Sleepers

Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper settlement overview: 

• Who: Fisher-Price agreed to a class action settlement worth $19 million. 
• Why: The class action settlement ends claims the company falsely advertised that its now-recalled Rock ‘n Play Sleepers were safe. The sleepers have been linked to more than 100 deaths. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court. 

Fisher-Price and its parent company Mattel asked a New York federal judge to preliminarily approve a $19 million class action settlement made to end claims involving a recalled baby sleeper linked to more than 100 deaths. 

Consumers claimed Fisher-Price falsely advertised that its Rock ‘n Play Sleeper were safe. The company recalled more than 4.7 million of the sleepers in 2019. 

The settlement, if approved, would provide class members who have proof of purchase and are current owners of the sleeper with a refund of the listed price, while current owners without proof of purchase can receive either $40, $50 or $60, depending on when they purchased the sleeper. 

“The Settlement, which is the culmination of over five years of hard-fought litigation and three-and-a-half years of settlement efforts, including four mediations, accomplishes the twin goals of the litigation,” an unopposed motion for preliminary approval says. 

Fisher-Price re-announced Rock ‘n Play Sleeper recall in January 2023 after more deaths

Consumers who are not current owners of the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers can receive between $25 and $35 if they have proof of purchase or $10 if they do not, according to the class action settlement. 

Fisher-Price re-announced the recall in January 2023 after more babies reportedly died since the original recall was initiated in April 2019. 

The company had received more than 30 reports of deaths linked to its Rock ‘n Play Sleepers at the time of the initial recall, which said the deaths were caused by infants’ rolling from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained. 

Fisher-Price said it received around 70 additional reports of fatalities after the recall was initially announced, with at least eight fatalities occurring after the recall was first posted. 

The company issued a separate recall earlier this year for around 204,000 Donald and Daisy Duck figures in the U.S. and about 11,000 sold in Canada over concerns their heads could detach, posing a choking hazard for small children. 

Are you a current or past owner of a Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Demet Basar, W. Daniel Miles, James Eubank, Paul Evans and Dylan Martin of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC and Terry Connors and Andrew Debbins of Connors LLP. 

The Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper settlement is In re: Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:19-md-2903, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

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