Good for Alan Yengoyan of the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, who just wrapped up a substantial settlement with 3M over its Scotch and Tartan brand adhesive and packaging tapes, according to a story by Marc Benjamin in today's Bee. 3M has agreed to pay almost $700,000 to settle the case, which alleged the company sold undersized adhesive tapes. Local prosecutors showed that some of 3M's tapes were 6% narrower than their packaging said.
In settling the case, 3M did not admit liability or guilt. Yengoyan said the case originated with inspectors from the Fresno office of the state Division of Measurement Standards, who brought it to the county's attention. Props to that department, too. Someone's paying attention over there.
You know, such a case could turn a person from skeptical to cynical. If you cannot trust your Scotch tape, what can you trust? This settlement will make the world a little safer for gift-wrappers everywhere...
Sounds a bit frivolous to me. If the tape isn't wide enough for crying out loud don't buy it. Prosecute them to get them to stop false advertising of their product but not for monetary damage work into it a donation to charity instead.
Why shouldn't they pay damages? Isn't it about time we taxpayers got a break in one of these cases?
As for becoming cynical, as long as I can rely on my trusty duct-tape, I'll be ok.
It seems that Fresno County, home of vigilante law and pro-tort deformists, has finally found a use for our country's justice system. Did that 6% smaller than advertised Scotch tape malfunction? Did it fail to perform up to standard? No. The Department of Measurement Standards, however, surely has better things around the county to measure (how about making the FAX run on time?), and the District Attorney's office certainly has better things to be doing than filing truly frivolous lawsuits.
I can't belive the County has nothing better to do the measure scotch tape. When the cut back start and people get laid off, I hope these guys are the first to go.
Must have been a slow day in the DA's office when they decided to measure the tape.Nothing else happening in the criminal system?
Isn’t this the perfect illustration of what’s wrong with government (and our legal system)? Major on the minors, ignore the important issues of society.
I published this response to the story on March 28, in our newsletter;
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 11:50 AM
Subject: BREAKING NEWZ 4 Orange Cove ... Fresno County wins $600,000 lawsuit...
One of the really great things about living in Fresno County are stories like this (see below).
In the print version of the Bee today the County discovered that 3M advertised it's one inch "scotch-type" tape - you know the tape you use on Christmas gifts, repairing dust covers on books, etc. - was really ONLY .96 of an inch wide!!! Stop the presses - alert the National Guard - call DHS as this could be a national security concern - but DO NOT bother the Fresno mayor at Starbucks (he may be on the phone with Victor Lopez solving various national issues).
Just for the record - .04 of an inch is about 1/32" - that is maybe three sheets of paper thick. W-O-W.
Is these the same prosecutors that could not convict a City employee of;
[] paying $300 of taxpayer money to look at an employees breasts?
..and/or..
[] paid his brother $2,200 to investigate the possibility of some kind'a car show in City parking lots?
..and/or..
[] negotiated a the use of parking facilities ($2,500 value) with the baseball team for free tickets in exchange of favorable parking fee deal for whomever ... and used the tickets himself and as a promo tool with employees?
Of course the ex-employee used the "dumber than dumb" defense ... or ... "... nobody said you had to have common sense to paid $94,000/year defense."
What a great place to be !!!!!!!!!!!!! ... eldon thompson
...the missing tapes have been found?