Attorney General Cautions Use of Chinese Tires

Mark McLean

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Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is one of 24 attorneys general throughout the country warning consumers to be wary of defective tires sold by Hangzhou Zhongce, or "HGR" , a Chinese tire manufacturer. Apparently, defective HGR tires have been suspected in causing a litany of car accidents in recent months. A recall is expected soon.

Even though HGR is a foreign corporation, it is still liable for potential lawsuits based on Washington's Products Liability Act (as well as a potential class-action lawsuit). Because HGR placed the defective tires into Washington's "stream of commerce," it likely has enough "minimum contacts" with Washington to be subject to the jurisdiction of Washington courts. Also, China (in addition to America) is a party to the Hague Convention, which means Chinese authorities can and will serve Chinese corporations with lawsuits in American courts.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.