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Manufacturer of Martha Stewart Tables Declares Bankruptcy

Affiliated Company Dissolved a Few Days Earlier

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 22, 2007

The company possibly filed for bankruptcy to avoid responsibility in a pending class action lawsuit, said lead counsel on the case, Richard Doherty from Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates in Chicago.

“There’s no way to know for sure, but I think the facts speak for themselves,” Doherty said.

The nationwide class action seeks restitution from Martha Stewart’s company, Omnimedia, Kmart, which is owned by Sears, and JRA. However, the bankruptcy filing likely means that JRA will not face any meaningful liability.

JRA Furniture was essentially a shell company for JRA Century, a company based in Taiwan that actually manufactured the tables, Doherty said. The company continuously denied any connection with JRA Century even after the Court ordered it to produce documents which included an “Agency Agreement” between the two JRA’s.

JRA Century recently dissolved and Doherty said he doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence the two companies collapsed within days of each other.

Although JRA’s website is still active, no one is answering its two customer service numbers and an e-mail to its customer service department bounced back.

For years, ConsumerAffairs.com has received a constant stream of complaints from consumers whose Martha Stewart-branded patio tables spontaneously shatter.

“I was sitting at my computer when I heard this tremendous crash,” said David Potts of Marietta, Ga. “I went outside to see what it was and it looked like my patio was covered in ice. It was the glass from the table top.

“I got a couple of slivers of glass in my fingers while I was cleaning it and here I am a year later and I can still feel pain in the tips of my fingers,” Potts said.

Since September 2003, at least 515 readers have shared stories about their Martha Stewart glass tops spontaneously shattering.

No Recall

Despite the numbers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has not issued a recall.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the agency revealed their own thick stack of complaints and letters from the CPSC to Kmart/Stewart’s lawyer, Eric Rubel.

In a letter to Rubel dated July 14, 2006, CPSC Deputy Director Marc Schoem states that Kmart and Martha Stewart had “indicated that it has voluntarily implemented actions to address reports of the tempered glass shattering.”

The explanation of those actions takes up three lines of text in the letter but was redacted because of FOIA exemptions that protect trade secrets.

Although this shows that Omnimedia has been aware of the problem for at least a year, it’s unclear whether anything has been done to remedy it as the number of complaints from consumers who recently purchased the tables from Kmart, continue to pour in.

The stack of documents uncovered from the CPSC’s investigation does not reveal why the agency did not implement a recall and CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said there is no longer any investigation.

Although JRA is bankrupt, the tables are still widely sold at Kmart under Stewart’s name and at the Home Depot under the “Hampton Bay” line of furniture.

“When Martha entered into this agreement with Kmart back in 1997, analysts looked at it as an effort by Kmart to upgrade its image by offering higher-quality, reputable, brand name goods unavailable anywhere else,” Doherty wrote in an e-mail.

“Well, come to find out that the tables are not high quality, not reputable, defective, made by a company that went bankrupt as soon as its liability into the case became apparent and the goods aren't exclusive, either, given that you can by JRA-manufactured tables at places like the Home Depot, too. This is the quality image sought by Kmart and Martha Stewart?”

No Comment

Omnimedia and Sears representatives did not reply to two e-mails requesting comment on what the companies are doing to remedy the problem and whether or not either company will honor the defunct warranty.

Sears spokesman Christian Brathwhaite said Kmart would "work with" its customers whose tables have exploded.

Brathwaite said customers should visit Kmart Customer Care or call toll-free 866-562-7848.

Doherty said that although JRA’s bankruptcy may slow the case’s progress, he is still going forward and that consumers whose table tops explode should:

• Keep a sampling of the glass in a bag for proof;

• File complaints with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, your state attorney general, and Consumer Affairs.Com; and

• Contact Kmart and Omnimedia to remind them how dangerous their tables are.

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