Stanley Black & Decker failed to immediately report potential hazardous defects or unreasonable safety risks related to its utility bars and miter saws to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Justice Department said in a suit filed on Monday.
The complaint, filed together with the CPSC, alleges that shortly after the company began manufacturing utility bars in December 2015, it learned that some bars were breaking unexpectedly during use, leading to serious injuries in some cases. The company did not report those incidents to CPSC until May 2019, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ also alleged that between 2019 and 2022 the company received hundreds of reports of rear protective guards and plastic deflectors on miter saws breaking, including reports of injuries. Those incidents went unreported to CPSC until June 2022, the DOJ said.
The failure to report those incidents violated the Consumer Product Safety Act, the DOJ said. It is seeking monetary civil penalties and injunctive relief. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Stanley Black & Decker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The New Britain, Conn.-based company had previously resolved allegations of CPSA violations, including in a stipulated order entered by a federal court in 2015, the DOJ said.
"This coordinated federal action will protect consumers," Acting CPSC Chairman Peter Feldman said. "We will not hesitate to use the full weight of our authorities, especially when dealing with repeat offenders."
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. specializes in the design, manufacturing and marketing of tools and engineering solutions for professional, industrial and construction and consumer use. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- electric tools and accessories (86.5%): tools and electric devices (drills wire, sanders, saws, grinders, batteries, etc.), garden tools (shears, cutting edge, trimmers, aerators , grinders, chainsaws, etc.), vacuum cleaners, lamps, lights, battery chargers, starter batteries, power converters, hand tools (measuring and leveling tools, planes, hammers, knives, blades, screwdrivers, saws, etc.), consumer mechanics tools (wrenches and sockets), plastic tool boxes, pneumatic tools and fasteners (nail guns, staplers, staples, etc.);
- industrial products (13.5%): professional and automotive mechanics tools (wrenches, sockets, electronic diagnostic tools, etc.), storage systems, plumbing, heating and air conditioning tools (pipe wrenches, pliers, tubing cutters, etc.), hydraulic tools, etc.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (61.9%), Canada (4.8%), Americas (5.7%), Europe (19.6%) and Asia (8%).
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