Crowell & Moring's Cheryl Falvey Testifies Before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee

Washington, D.C. – May 19, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP partner and co-chair of the firm's Advertising & Product Risk Management Group, Cheryl A. Falvey, testified today before the U.S. House of Representative's Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, "Oversight of the Consumer Product Safety Commission," was heard before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. It focused on legislation authored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to require a study of the mandatory safety standards for Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs) proposed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Speaking before Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), U.S. Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot F. Kaye, and other members of the committee, Falvey, who served as the general counsel of the CPSC from 2008 until 2012, focused her testimony on the legal framework currently in place to protect consumers from risks of injuries from ROVs. Her testimony outlined the processes that the CPSC will need to follow in order to make voluntary standards into mandatory law.

Falvey noted, "Voluntary standards are iterative. They evolve over the course of years and can be adapted as needed when issues arise. When made mandatory, aspects of the voluntary standard, which may be subject to differing interpretations, such as test procedures and methods, can create compliance challenges. It can create new legal obligations and testing costs with respect to aspects of the standard that add very little to overall safety and risk reduction."

Falvey focuses her practice on litigation and counseling services, with an emphasis on brand and consumer protection matters, including product safety, privacy, anti-counterfeiting, sweepstakes, promotions, and advertising. Falvey defends consumer class actions, unfair competition, product liability and other mass tort claims arising out of consumer, occupational, and environmental exposures, as well as trade secret, intellectual property, and other technology litigation, representing clients in the food and beverage, consumer product, technology, energy, and chemical industry sectors.

Download Printable PDF