PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Gives U.S. district courts the power to stop people from breaking certain product-safety laws. Courts can order people to stop violating section 2068, to stop making, selling, distributing, or importing products that are banned by an order under section 2064(d), and to stop selling products that do not meet a consumer product safety rule. The Consumer Product Safety Commission or the U.S. Attorney General can bring these cases. Cases may be filed where the bad act happened, where the defendant is found, or where the defendant does business. A defendant can be served in any district where they live or can be found. Any consumer product that fails to meet a safety rule, or that is banned by an order under section 2064(d), can be seized and taken out of commerce by a district court where the product is found. Those cases follow procedures like property-seizure cases in admiralty (maritime) law. If similar cases about similar products are pending in more than one district, a court can order them combined for one trial when a party asks and notifies the others.

Title 15, §2071

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Jurisdiction

The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction to take the following action:

(1)Restrain any violation of section 2068 of this title.

(2)Restrain any person from manufacturing for sale, offering for sale, distributing in commerce, or importing into the United States a product in violation of an order in effect under section 2064(d) of this title.

(3)Restrain any person from distributing in commerce a product which does not comply with a consumer product safety rule.

Such actions may be brought by the Commission (without regard to section 2076(b)(7)(A) of this title) or by the Attorney General in any United States district court for a district wherein any act, omission, or transaction constituting the violation occurred, or in such court for the district wherein the defendant is found or transacts business. In any action under this section process may be served on a defendant in any other district in which the defendant resides or may be found.

(b)Products liable to proceeding

Any consumer product—

(1)which fails to conform with an applicable consumer product safety rule, or

(2)the manufacture for sale, offering for sale, distribution in commerce, or the importation into the United States of which has been prohibited by an order in effect under section 2064(d) of this title,

when introduced into or while in commerce or while held for sale after shipment in commerce shall be liable to be proceeded against on libel of information and condemned in any district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which such consumer product is found. Proceedings in cases instituted under the authority of this subsection shall conform as nearly as possible to proceedings in rem in admiralty. Whenever such proceedings involving substantially similar consumer products are pending in courts of two or more judicial districts they shall be consolidated for trial by order of any such court upon application reasonably made by any party in interest upon notice to all other parties in interest.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–284, §§ 11(b), 12(c)(1), designated existing provision as par. (1) and (3), added par. (2), and in provision following par. (3) substituted “(without regard to section 2076(b)(7)(A) of this title)” for “(with the concurrence of the Attorney General)”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–284, § 12(c)(2), amended subsec. (b) generally, inserting provision designated as par. (2) which included within consumer products liable to proceedings, a product of which the manufacture for sale, offering for sale, distribution in commerce, or importation into the United States has been prohibited.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the sixtieth day following Oct. 27, 1972, see section 34 of Pub. L. 92–573, set out as a note under section 2051 of this title.

§2071 Injunctive Enforcement and Seizure