A $13M Lesson in “Due Care”?

In Lacey Act Lessons from the Lumber Liquidators $13 Million Settlement, Pillsbury attorneys William Sullivan and Benjamin Cote explore the ramification of Lumber Liquidators’ agreement to plead guilty to five criminal charges, including one felony, stemming from its purchase and import of certain wood products through three separate Chinese suppliers. Among other things, the plea agreement marks the first criminal conviction of a major U.S. company under 2008 Lacey Act amendments that expanded the reach of the wildlife protection statute to wood products sourced from foreign countries.