Land of Leather claimants receive payout
Solicitors representing 408 claimants in the UK who suffered chemical burns after buying furniture that had been transported from Asia alongside sachets containing dimethyl fumarate (DMF) have secured compensation for their clients.
Each of the 408 former Land of Leather customers will receive £1,800. The payout was confirmed at London’s High Court on 15 December 2010, following an earlier settlement totalling £20 million for 1,600 Argos customers, who received between £1,175 and £9,000 each.
The reaction on people's skin was caused not by the leather or the furniture itself, but by anti-mould agent DMF. The International Union of Leather Technicians and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) points out that DMF is not used during the manufacture of leather articles, but it was placed in sachets that were put inside furniture, shoe boxes or other packaging material to inhibit mould that could otherwise harm the products during transport and storage.
IULTCS has said the fungicide is not used by any tanneries, and has not been used by the tanning industry to preserve finished leather.
Richard Langton, senior partner at legal firm Russell Jones & Walker, was the solicitor who represented the 408 claimants. “Because of the irresponsible use of a chemical, thousands of consumers have suffered serious and painful health problems,” he said. “All have been upset that household goods could hurt them in their own home.”
Land of Leather customers had been told it was unlikely they would receive compensation after Zurich, insurers for the now-defunct firm said the company had breached the terms of its policy. On 15 December 2010, Mr Justice MacDuff approved awards to Land of Leather customers after Zurich agreed to a compromise deal.
A spokeswoman for Zurich UK said: “We are pleased that the court has approved this settlement and hope that this compromise agreement brings finality to this matter for those involved and these individuals can move on with their lives. We acknowledge the distress caused to all those individuals that purchased sofas affected by the toxic substance DMF and we entirely understand that the last 18 months have been very difficult for all concerned.”
More than 4,000 people in the UK experienced skin allergies, rashes and burns after using leather sofas bought from some UK furniture retailers. EU manufacturers were already banned from using the chemical, and, on March 17 2009, the EU made a formal ruling (2009/251/EC) that prohibited products containing DMF from being made available on the market in the EU after consumers in at least five member states suffered skin burns and breathing problems because of the chemical.
