A jury Friday awarded a $6 million verdict to an O'Hara company that accused an international product-testing firm of botching space heater safety certifications by assigning them to Chinese engineers with limited grasp of English.
The eight jury members socked Intertek Testing Services NA with $1,045,000 in past and future damages plus $5 million in punitive damages, vindicating Brand Marketing Group's claim that poor testing practices thwarted the rollout of the Thermablaster heater.
Intertek tests "every other important product in our households," said attorney Brendan Lupetin of Downtown-based Meyers, Evans & Associates, who represented Brand. "They basically farm their work out overseas, and these people can't even read the [U.S.] regulations."
Attorney Stephen M. Houghton of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, representing Intertek, said that while the firm "respects the judicial process, Intertek is disappointed in [Friday's] outcome, and is exploring its options regarding the result of the case." He declined further comment.
Brand made a deal to provide Thermablaster vent-free gas room heaters to Ace Hardware, according to documents filed in the case.
Brand hired a Chinese firm to manufacture the heaters, and that company farmed the inspection and safety certification to an Intertek-controlled lab in Guongzhou, China, according to the filings.
After thousands of the heaters were delivered to Ace Hardware, a competitor reported that they weren't properly manufactured, according to Mr. Lupetin.
Brand redesigned the heaters and got another firm to test them. But in the meantime, Ace sued Brand and won a $611,000 judgment.
Brand's investigation revealed that the lab used by Intertek had never before tested a heater under the required standards and instead applied safety rules associated with outdoor grills, according to filings and Mr. Lupetin.
Intertek Chief Engineer Frederick Curkeet testified that the Chinese testing engineers "didn't quite understand the English correctly," and that the firm does not translate U.S. standards into the languages of its overseas testers. Among other things, the testers thought that the unit included a gas pressure regulator, which it didn't, Mr. Curkeet said, according to a transcript.
The trial lasted two and a half days and the jury deliberated for roughly that long.
Mr. Lupetin said the problem was caught before any person or home was damaged. The Thermablasters on sale now require professional installation and use of a regulator, he said.
Intertek had countered that Brand misused its certification mark, thus infringing on its intellectual property. The jury found that the infringement was not willful, and awarded no damages against Brand.
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