July 06, 2005
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has filed suit against a maker of bulletproof vests and a ballistic fiber supplier. The complaint alleges that Second Chance Body Armor Inc. and its fiber supplier, Toyobo Co., sold body armor to several federal agencies, knowing it was defective. The vests were made with Zylon, a bullet-resistant fiber, and the two companies “kept silent as to the ever-mounting information in their possession that the Zylon fabric degraded substantially faster than expected” when exposed to certain light, temperature and humidity conditions.
The suit was originally brought as a qui tam action under the federal False Claims Act.
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported on developments on July 5, 2005.