Court Upholds Fireworks Penalty Against Shelton Wholesale Inc.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
upheld a $100,000 penalty against Shelton Wholesale Inc., of Eagleville, Mo., for importing fireworks that violated CPSC regulations.
Greg Shelton and his fireworks companies, including Shelton
Wholesale, unsuccessfully appealed the district court's finding that
CPSC has jurisdiction to regulate consumer fireworks. Mr. Shelton and
his companies also failed to convince the appellate court that CPSC
denied them their due process rights, that CPSC's evidence had been
improperly admitted in court, and that the Shelton companies were
entitled to a jury trial. The appellate court agreed with the district
court - and with CPSC - on all of these legal issues.
The appellate court also ruled that the case brought by the
National Fireworks Association (NFA) against CPSC, making the same
assertions as Shelton in the civil penalty case, lacked merit. The
district court had ruled for CPSC in the NFA case.
"We're extremely gratified that the federal courts have endorsed
CPSC's fireworks program," said CPSC Acting Chairman Thomas Moore. "Our
statutory authority and the validity of our enforcement methods can no
longer be questioned."
CPSC had charged Shelton with importing fireworks that violated
federal regulations because they could malfunction or explode
unexpectedly while people are standing nearby, causing injury or death.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Litigation
represented CPSC in the Shelton cases.
