Notice Related to Big Kid Booster Marketing Litigation

Evenflo, in the past, represented to buyers of some of its Big Kid booster seats that those booster seats were appropriate for children weighing 30 pounds or more, provided the other conditions for using the seat were met. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommend that children weighing less than 40 pounds should remain in a front-facing car seat with a harness and a tether until they reach the maximum height and weight permitted by the manufacturer of the front-facing seat they are currently using. Absent special circumstances, and provided a tether is used with the front-facing harness seat, Evenflo agrees with this recommendation. Please see Evenflo’s owner’s manual, website, and Facebook page for additional information on the safe use of booster seats, including an educational video discussing the subject of transitioning a child from a forward-facing harnessed car seat to a belt-positioning booster seat, specifically addressing issues such as weight, age, height, and child maturity level.

Starting in the early 2000s, Evenflo represented to buyers of its Big Kid booster seats that it had performed testing on the Big Kid that met or exceeded the safety tests required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Beginning around 2008, Evenflo also represented that it had performed side-impact tests on the Big Kid. At no time from 2008 through the present has NHTSA had a side-impact testing standard applicable to booster seats. Although NHTSA has recently developed side-impact testing standards, those standards do not apply to child restraint systems for children weighing 40 pounds or more and, therefore, currently no federal regulation exists relating to side-impact testing of booster seats. Evenflo’s statements related to side-impact testing refer only to testing pursuant to standards developed by Evenflo and not to NHTSA standards, which did not exist at the time Evenflo marketed the Big Kid. Evenflo’s own side-impact testing standard as used with the Big Kid is different than the standard ultimately adopted by NHTSA, which does not apply to belt-positioning booster seats in any event.