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A New Jersey man alleges in a class action lawsuit that Graco car seats are sold with a significant amount of their useful life already gone by the time of purchase.
Most new parents are aware they need a car seat to protect their precious newborn, both as a best practice and under state law, and that car seats have an expiration date, at which point they should be replaced.
Lead plaintiff Matthew Schmitt claims in a class action lawsuit that the makers of Graco car seats are misrepresenting the useful life of car seats they sell as new.
According to the class action lawsuit, Newell Brands and Graco Children’s Products are responsible for the manufacture and sale of a variety of car seats, booster seats and child safety seats they sell in stores and online.
Schmitt says he received two Graco car seats with significantly shorter use spans.
First, he says he received a “new” Graco car seat in January 2019 for his infant daughter. The car seat was a convertible version, meant to adjust to his growing child’s needs up to the age of 10. However, he discovered the so-called new seat had been manufactured Jan. 16, 2018, a full year before his daughter was even born.
Schmitt also claims he purchased a second Graco car seat Aug. 31, 2020, for more than $200. He says he discovered the seat had been manufactured in March 2019 — nearly a year and a half before it was sold to the plaintiff.
The class action lawsuit alleges that Graco claims the convertible seats give consumers 10 years of use; however, according to Graco’s website, car seats should be thrown away 10 years after they were manufactured.
The defendants’ child safety seats are represented as being new, “but are instead sold to consumers with a significant portion of their limited useful life having been expired,” the complaint asserts.
According to advocacy group Safe Ride 4 Kids, while not mandated, car seat manufacturers provide expiration dates on their products ranging from six to eight years as a “best practice.”
The group claims that the plastics within the car seats can break down over time, including in extreme cold and hot temperatures, as well as sun exposure. In addition, spills on straps, buckles and webbing can make the item harder to use safely over time, Safe Ride notes.
The plaintiff says it is impossible for him and other consumers to know they are purchasing car seats that have partially expired. Consumers who purchase items online cannot check the expiration date of the car seat, the class action lawsuit alleges.
“A screenshot from gracobaby.com demonstrates that there is ‘[u]nfortunately…no way of checking [the date of manufacture] online,’” points out the complaint, which includes a screenshot of a customer review noting they had received an 11-month-old car seat from Graco.
Schmitt says he and other consumers would not have purchased or paid as much for Graco car seats had they known the item they received would be months or even years old.
The plaintiff contends he and others relied on Graco’s marketing that its car seats would be safe for the transport of their children for much longer than the partially expired product they received.
“As a result of Defendants’ unlawful and unfair misrepresentations and omissions, Plaintiff and thousands of other consumers in New Jersey and throughout the United States purchased Defendants’ Car Seats that were held out as new, but were in fact expired in substantial part,” the class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff accuses the manufacturers of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, as well as of breach of implied and express warranty, negligent misrepresentation and fraud.
The class action lawsuit seeks to represent New Jersey residents who purchased a car seat from Graco online within the past six years. The plaintiff is seeking damages, as well as a court order stopping Graco from its allegedly deceptive sale of car seats online.
Did you purchase a Graco car seat? Have you checked its expiration date? Tell us your experience in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Andrew J. Dressel of Dressel/Malikschmitt LLP.
The Graco Car Seat Expiration Class Action Lawsuit is Schmitt, et al. v. Newell Brands, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-16240-MAS-LHG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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39 thoughts onGraco Car Seats Sold Partially Expired, Class Action Lawsuit Says
Please add me I purchased 2 of them for my grandson.
Add me
Is this still valid? If so, what dates do you need when purchased?
I couldn’t tell you how many Grace car seats I’ve purchased. I’ve been babysitting for many years. I know of atleast 7 seats this includes both car seat/ stroller combos and booster seats.
Purchased 3 in total babies are 2 AMD 2 months.
add me please many have been purchased for multiple grands and vehicles
Add me please!
Add me please! I have bought 4 at different times for my grandchildren.
please add me. Purchased Graco in 2018, realized it was manufactured in 2016