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Land of Leather customers 'will not receive compensation'

Published on 19 Mar 2010 under category: legal

A high court judge has ruled that customers who claimed they bought toxic sofas from Land of Leather will not receive compensation.

More than 300 people said they had suffered burns and rashes caused by a chemical used on the furniture.

The leather sofas were made in China by a company called Linkwise, which used an anti-mould agent known as dimethyl fumerate to protect the material.

They were sold by Land of Leather, as well as Walmsley Furnishing and Argos.

EU companies are now banned from importing products that contain the chemical, after customers in other countries reported similar symptoms.

Land of Leather admitted liability, but went into administration, so its customers brought a commercial litigation case against insurer Zurich instead.

However, a judge ruled that they were not entitled to compensation due to a clause in Land of Leather's insurance policy.

The furniture retailer went into administration in January last year.

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