The Associated Press
CENTRAL LAKE, Mich. (AP) -- Second Chance Body Armor Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following lawsuits in at least nine states accusing it of selling defective bullet-resistant vests to police officers.
The northern Michigan company is the nation’s largest manufacturer of soft, concealable body armor for law enforcement. In a statement, the company announced the filing Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Grand Rapids.
The accusations generated several lawsuits, as well as federal and state investigations, and finger-pointing between Second Chance and the producer of Zylon, a high-tech synthetic fiber woven into many of Second Chance’s vests.
Zylon’s producer, Toyobo Co. of Japan, has acknowledged that tests show Zylon loses 10 percent to 20 percent of its durability within two years of manufacture, but it insists it works well in body armor that is properly constructed.
Second Chance faced lawsuits since announcing more than a year ago that it had concerns about Zylon. Defending against them has left no time to run the company, Second Chance chief executive Paul Banducci said.
“For almost a year management has been involved in these draining Zylon related legal actions,” Banducci said in the statement Sunday. “The filing will allow Second Chance management to focus on the management of the business so as to continue to serve its law enforcement and military customers.”
The company said Chapter 11 protection will allow it to stop spending money and resources on the litigation. Second Chance claims to have spared more than 935 wearers from death or serious injury with is products.
Among the lawsuits, one blamed the company in the shooting death of a California policeman. Cases also were filed on behalf of vest buyers in Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia, Illinois, Connecticut, Arkansas and Pennsylvania, with some state attorneys general accusing the company of putting officers in danger.
As of last year, an estimated 200,000 of the nation’s 700,000 police officers were believed to wear vests made with Zylon, which has been used by other body armor manufacturers in the United States and Canada.
Last month, Utah reached a settlement with Second Chance over the claims. The company agreed to pay more than $210,000 to refund state and local agencies for the additional price of the new vests.
Second Chance employs about 250 workers at its Central Lake factory and has about 100 other sewing subcontractors in the area. The company also has facilities in Alabama, Massachusetts, England, Germany and Morocco.