An appeals court in New Jersey has upheld its rulings in two different lawsuits filed by the state's Division of Consumer Affairs against out-of-state toy makers that knowingly sold a dangerous product.

The division filed the lawsuit against companies located in Indiana and Rhode Island for selling yo-yo waterballs in New Jersey, even after the state introduced a ban on the product in 2008. The ban was set in place because of the dangerous nature of the product, which put kids at a high risk of strangulation.

Business in New Jersey was seemingly booming for the Rhode Island company, which sold 13,344 dangerous yo-yo waterballs in the state after officials set the ban in place. The company based out of Indiana sold 444 in New Jersey after the ban. Both lawsuits were filed in 2009.

A court ruled in favor of the state in both cases and both companies appealed the decision. However, the companies never cast doubt that they sold the dangerous products in New Jersey after they had been banned, rather, they simply argued that the punishment was too harsh. The Indiana company was forced to forfeit $54,300 and the Rhode Island company had to pay $190,000 in civil damages. Both companies also had to pay for the state's legal fees.

An appeals court did not buy the argument that the punishment was too excessive and the judgment stood. In fact, the court pointed to the fact that the punishment was below the maximum set forth by the state's Yo-Yo Waterballs Act. The companies could have potentially been fined $10,000 for the first offense and an additional $20,000 for every offense after.

Source: New Jersey Newsroom, "N.J. lawsuit against yo-yo waterball toy companies upheld by appeal court," Dec. 28, 2011