WORLD / America
US sues Japanese body armor manufacturer
(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-28 08:45
DETROIT - The federal government is suing a Japanese manufacturer it
claims supplied defective material found in 100,000 bulletproof vests
used by US law enforcement officials.
A False Claims Act lawsuit has been filed against Osaka-based Toyobo Co.
Ltd. and its American subsidiary, Toyobo America Inc.
Federal officials claim from 1999 to 2005 Toyobo manufactured and
marketed Zylon, a polymer fiber used in the manufacture of bulletproof
vests, despite knowing the fiber was defective and the company's
manufacturing process was flawed. The lawsuit alleges the defective
material reduced the strength of the vests and claims the company knew
that Zylon degraded much faster than it had disclosed.
The vests were sold to a variety of body armor manufacturers, including
Central Lake, Michigan-based Second Chance Body Armor Inc., and were then
purchased using federal funds by federal, state, local and tribal law
enforcement agencies, according to the US Justice Department.
"The knowing provision of defective material for use in the bulletproof
vests worn by our federal agents and other law enforcement officers is
more than just a fraud on the US Treasury," said Peter D. Keisler,
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. "Toyobo's conduct here
put the lives of hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers at
risk."
Toyobo officials said they believe the charges "are without basis" and
mimic earlier allegations against Second Chance.
"Toyobo's actions were proper and prompt and the company was not involved
in the design, engineering, production, or sale of the armored
manufacturers' vests," Toyobo spokesman Kent Jarrell said Wednesday night
in an e-mail response to The Associated Press.
He said in 2001 Toyobo began aging tests on Zylon and reported results to
body armor manufacturers. Jarrell said the company asked manufacturers to
consider the data when designing, producing and testing their vests.
Toyobo also claims it urged all manufacturers to inform their customers
of the test results.
"This company allowed its material, Zylon, to be used to make soft body
armor without making the law enforcement officers aware of its
deficiencies," said Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal
Order of Police. "They not only defrauded the agencies which purchased
these vests, they put the lives of men and women at risk."
Previously, the United States intervened against Toyobo and Second Chance
Body Armor in a separate False Claims Act lawsuit stemming from defective
Zylon bulletproof vests sold by Second Chance.
In 2005, Toyobo agreed to pay $29 million to settle a class-action suit
by police officers and departments across the country that used Second
Chance vests.
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