Calcaterra Law PC announces five settlements for our clients who lost their infants in the Mattel/Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play Inclined Sleeper. For the past five years, attorneys at Calcaterra Law PC and Blank Rome LLP have jointly represented families from across the U.S. whose infants tragically passed away in the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper (“Plaintiff Families”). The Plaintiff Families sought to hold Fisher-Price, Inc., and its corporate parent Mattel (“Defendants”), accountable for their infants’ untimely and avoidable deaths. The complaints filed on their behalf alleged that Defendants had actual knowledge that the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper could cause infant deaths, yet nevertheless callously persisted in marketing and selling the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper to unsuspecting families for years, until it was eventually recalled in April 2019.

Public Policy Impact: After grieving families came forward about their infants’ deaths and Consumer Reports published investigative reporting about deaths in the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper, in 2019 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) issued a report about the dangers of inclined sleepers like the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper. In addition, numerous lawsuits were filed across the United States by families whose children had died in the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper, including the lawsuits by Plaintiff Families.

Subsequently, the U.S. Congress Oversight Committee issued a scathing report of Mattel’s and Fisher-Price’s culpability in placing the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper on the market. Thereafter, the CPSC issued regulations banning inclined sleepers and, in 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, Public Law 117-126 117th Congress.  The Safe Sleep for Babies Act is a federal law banning inclined sleepers for infants, like the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper, in the United States. The Act also classified inclined sleepers as a “hazardous product.”

Allegations: In their complaints, the Plaintiff Families alleged numerous product liability, negligence, fraud, and wrongful death-related causes of action.

Case History: Lawsuits were filed in the California Supreme Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the Plaintiff Families, including Butler, et al. v. Fisher-Price, et al., No: 19STCV20490 and Sanders, et al. v. Fisher Price, et al., No. 19STCV24243. Trials were set down in relation to the cases brought by five Plaintiff Families. Calcaterra Law and Blank Rome successfully negotiated settlements for these Plaintiff Families prior to trial. The firms continue to represent two families in appeals filed in the California Court of Appeal.