Orbit Baby Class Action Lawsuit Says Car Seats Contain Toxic Chemicals

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The manufacturers of Orbit Baby car seats are facing a consumer class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to disclose to parents that the high-end car seats contain a toxic flame-retardant chemical known as TDCPP or Chlorinated Tris.

TDCPP or Tris is known to cause cancer and reproductive harms and is also known to adversely affect children, whose bodies are still developing and who are more susceptible to impairments to their nervous and endocrine systems, according to an assessment conducted by the Consumer Product and Safety Commission.

Additionally, Tris is listed as a chemical known to cause cancer under California’s Prop 65 consumer protection law.

Plaintiff Spencer Price of California purchased an Orbit Baby G2 Car Seat in May 2014 from a Baby’s Den retailer for his minor child to use. At the time of the purchase, Orbit Baby advertised that the G2 Car Seat contained “below detection limits” of “dangerous flame-retardant chemicals.”

Specifically, the complaint states that the Bay-area based Orbit sells high-end car seats, including car seat/stroller “travel systems” that can cost upwards of $1,000. Referring to brominated flame retardants (BFRs), the company’s advertising claimed that its car seats are “BFR-Free” and “…made without the use of toxic brominated and chlorinated chemicals.”

But independent testing shows that several Orbit car seats contain high levels of TDCPP, in violation of California law, Price states.

Once Price became aware that Orbit Baby car seats contained TDCPP, he immediately ceased using the G2 Car Seat.

Price also points out in the lawsuit that Orbit has been served with two California Prop 65 violations, one in November 2014 and another in February 2016, which requires companies to disclose to customers “chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm.” Despite receiving these violations, Orbit has maintained the car seat does not contain the dangerous chemical.

“Defendants’ failure to disclose – and decision to instead falsely deny – the presence of TDCPP in the G2 Car Seats constitutes unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent trade practices,” the class action lawsuit states.

Price brings claims of breach of implied warranty, common law fraud, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and violation various California consumer fraud statutes.

He is seeking to represent a nationwide Class and a California subclass of consumers who currently own or used to own a G2 Car Seat.

In March, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) initiated legal action against the car seat maker, demanding Orbit Baby recall its car seats. The lawsuit followed a December 2015 CBS News report that found that at least one retailer informed Orbit of the problem as early as the fall of 2014, yet the company continued to advertise products as flame retardant-free.

In a follow-up report in March 2016, CBS revealed “body burden” testing showing that high levels of flame retardants were found in one baby who was using an Orbit car seat – levels that decreased dramatically after the parents replaced the car seat.

Price is represented by Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright, Joseph G. Sauder, Matthew D. Schelkopf, and Joseph B. Kenney of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP.

The Orbit Baby Car Seat Class Action Lawsuit is Price v. Orbit Baby Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-8849, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.