Late reports

13. 7, defective bullet-proofvests, settlement

US: Japanese textile manufacturer Toyobo Co is to pay $29mn to settle a class action lawsuit that had demanded damages from the company for bullet-proof vests suspected of defects. Toyobo received a preliminary approval for the settlement from the Oklahoma District Court. The case involved some 150,000 bullet-resistant vests. Other lawsuits – including one filed by the family of a California police officer killed while wearing the vest – are still pending against Toyobo, which supplied the fibre called Zylon for the vests, and Second Chance Body Armor Inc, based in Central Lake, Michigan, which supplied the vests. The settlement covers class action in West Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, New Jersey, California and Michigan, in addition to Oklahoma, according to Toyobo. The US government earlier sued Second Chance and Osaka-based Toyobo, contending they conspired to hide evidence the vests could be defective. Second Chance, which has since declared bankruptcy, is facing lawsuits by states, police agencies and individuals.