Calico Critter Distributor Negligent in Toddler Choking Death

Toy distributor Epoch Everlasting Play LLC is liable for the death of a two-year-old child who choked on a “flocked” Calico Critters toy that is banned under federal law, a federal court in New Mexico ruled.

The Calico Critters Yellow Labrador Twins toy is a flocked toy—a toy with a fuzzy texture—intended for use by children under three years of age, but it also has small parts that present a choking hazard, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico said.

And “because flocked toys are intended definitively for use by children under three years of age,” expert ...