BJ's Wholesale to Pay $9 Million to Resolve CPSC Charges for Failure to Report Portable AC Risk

By Josh Beckerman

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said BJ's Wholesale Club agreed to pay a $9 million civil penalty resolving charges that it "knowingly failed to immediately report to CPSC" a fire risk in portable air conditioners made by Royal Sovereign International.

According to the CPSC, one of the products was involved in August 2016 house fire in Smithtown, N.Y., and BJ's learned of the fire no later than March 2017. A woman died in December 2016 of injuries from the fire.

The CPSC said that in March 2021, BJ's issued a notice that consumers should "stop using this product immediately." The CPSC and Royal Sovereign jointly announced a recall in December 2021, saying Royal Sovereign was aware of 11 reports of air conditioners catching fire or smoking during use.

According to the settlement agreement posted by the CPSC, BJ's entered the agreement document "to avoid the cost, distraction, delay, uncertainty, and inconvenience of protracted litigation or other proceedings," and the settlement "does not constitute, nor is it evidence of, an admission by BJ's of liability or violation of any law." The company didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2023 15:50 ET (19:50 GMT)

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