Tuesday, July 7, 2009

 

A joint petition filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by five consumer advocacy groups seeks to require new warning labels for Chrysler vehicles manufactured before May 30, 2009. The language that this group would like affixed to every Chrysler product manufactured before May 30, 2009 would read as follows:

This vehicle was produced prior to the date when the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved.

If you buy this vehicle and are injured or killed, even if your injuries were caused by the manufacturer, you are your survivors will not be able to recover your losses by taking action against the manufacturer.

If your passengers are injured or killed, even if their injuries were caused by the manufacturer, they and their survivors will not be able to recover their losses by taking action against the manufacturer.

This notice is required by the Federal Trade Commission. For more details, contact ____________, [toll-free number at FTC with recording in English and Spanish that provides more detail] or online at [link to FTC website with more information]

There is no doubt that car accidents can cause catastrophic injury and/or death. Some of those accidents may be caused by the manufacturers. The petitioners claim that since the Chrysler bankruptcy deprives victims of accidents caused by defects in cars manufactured by Chrysler before May 30, 2009, purchasers of those cars should be warned.

Not all legal experts agree. Bankruptcy attorney and author Myles Alderman agrees that the representatives of consumers are certainly justified in doing all they can to protect the interests of those they represent (including those who have been or may become injured). However, he is concerned that the warning would cause confusion for most consumers who would not be able to ascertain for themselves whether the vehicle in question posed any greater risk of personal injury than any other vehicle or the availability of other sources of recovery in the event of a catastrophic accident. Alderman is also concerned that the proposed warning on cars to be sold in the future would do nothing to provide notice to those individuals who previously purchased a Chrysler product"

Chapter 11 business reorganizations are used to save jobs and protect the interests of the many creditors of a business. Other interest to be considered in a Chapter 11 reorganization include the interests of all the consumers who have made a substantial investment in purchasing a Chrysler product sold before May 30, 2009, franchisees, employees and the many suppliers whose livelihood depends upon the successful reorganization of Chrysler.

Attorney Alderman recommends that anyone with questions regarding how the Chrysler bankruptcy might affect their rights contact a business bankruptcy lawyer.

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Myles H. Alderman, Jr., has been guiding business leaders through financial crises since 1986. He is the author of Chapter 11 Business Reorganizations: For Business Leaders, Accountants and Lawyers (Outskirts Press, 2006), the Bankruptcy Law Chapter of the Connecticut Lawyers Desktop (CBA, 2008) and dozens of articles. He has been heard on radio shows across North America and his commentary has been printed in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times.

He is an active member of the Business Bankruptcy Section of the American Bar Association, The Business Bankruptcy Section and the Fraud Taskforce of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and The Executive Committee of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. He was educated at Kenyon College (A.B. Economics & Psychology), Cambridge University (Post-Grad. Economics), and Syracuse University College of Law (J.D. Cum Laude), where he earned the LFE Goldie Award for Outstanding Scholarship and was managing editor of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce.