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SunSetter Products LP Accused of Delaying Report on Hazardous Awning Covers
BOSTON – A complaint has been filed against Massachusetts-based SunSetter Products LP, alleging that the company delayed reporting a hazardous defect involving protective vinyl covers for its retractable awnings.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires manufacturers to report information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. SunSetter, a limited partnership based in Malden, Mass., allegedly failed to comply with this requirement.
The complaint alleges that between 2012 and 2017, SunSetter received 14 reports of its motorized awnings springing open, resulting in several injuries and one death. Despite notice of these incidents, the company did not report the problems with its awning covers to the CPSC until October 2017.
“Prompt reporting of potentially dangerous defects or problems with products is vital to impactful and immediate consumer protection. CPSC cannot do its job without strict compliance by industry,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Manufacturers must be held accountable for failing to comply with this important obligation which jeopardizes the safety of consumers.”
The protective covers at issue were sold separately or given away as a promotional item with the company’s motorized awnings between June 1999 and January 2019. The covers were recalled in August 2019.
“Companies must report safety issues in consumer products immediately, as the law requires, to prevent unnecessary injury or death,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with the CPSC to hold accountable manufacturers that put profits over the safety of consumers.”
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin E. Brizius of Rollins’ Civil Division and Senior Litigation Counsels Christina Parascandola and Claude Scott and Trial Attorney Nicole Frazer of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Harriet Kerwin and Renee H. McCune of the CPSC’s Office of the General Counsel.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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