(a) No commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer shall manufacture, remanufacture, distribute, sell at wholesale or retail, contract to sell or resell, lease, or sublet, or otherwise place into the stream of commerce, a product that is unsafe, as defined in subdivision (b), knowing that the product is unsafe.
(b) A product shall be deemed unsafe for purposes of this chapter only if it meets one or both of the following criteria:
(1) The product has been recalled because it does not conform to state or federal laws and regulations setting forth standards for the product.
(2) The product has been recalled for any safety hazard reason in cooperation with the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission or its staff, or voluntarily recalled for any safety hazard reason by the product’s commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or wholesaler, and the recall has not been rescinded.
(c) (1) An unsafe product, as determined pursuant to subdivision (b), may be retrofitted if the retrofit has been approved by the agency issuing the recall or warning, or the agency responsible for approving the retrofit if it is different from the agency issuing the recall or warning.
(2) A retrofitted product may be sold if it is accompanied at the time of sale by a notice declaring that it is safe to use. The notice shall include all of the following:
(A) A description of the original problem that made the recalled product unsafe.
(B) A description of the retrofit that explains how the original problem was eliminated and declaring that it is now safe to use.
(C) The name and address of the commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or wholesaler who accomplished the retrofit, certifying that the work was done, along with the name and model number of the product retrofitted.
(3) The commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or wholesaler is responsible for ensuring that the notice described in paragraph (2) is present with the retrofitted product at the time of sale. This paragraph and paragraph (2) shall not apply, and the product may be sold, if either subparagraph (A) or (B) applies:
(A) The retrofit meets all of the following:
(i) The product requires assembly by the consumer.
(ii) The retrofit kit is provided with the product by the commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or wholesaler.
(iii) The retrofit kit is accompanied at the time of sale by instructions explaining how to apply the retrofit.
(B) The seller of a previously unsold product or the entity to whom unsold products had been returned under the terms of the recall accomplishes the approved or recommended repair prior to sale.
(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 569, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2009.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018