Federal regulators fined Black & Decker $1.575 million for failing to immediately report a defect that allowed some cordless electric lawnmowers to start spontaneously, officials announced Wednesday.
Black & Decker did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement with the government, and a company spokesman said the dispute was the result of "an honest disagreement" over federal law regarding recalls.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that the company, formerly based in Towson but now part of Connecticut-based Stanley Black & Decker, received more than 100 complaints from 1998 to 2009 about the mowers starting by themselves or continuing to run after their handles were released. But the company did not report the problems to the Consumer Product Safety Commission until late 2009, officials said.
In at least two cases, consumers were injured when the mowers started while being cleaned, according to federal officials' complaint.
"This dispute represents an honest disagreement over the reporting requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act," said Gregory S. Waybright, the company's vice president for investor and government relations, in an e-mail. "Stanley Black & Decker resolved to put it behind us, to resume and maintain our good relations with the CPSC."
Black & Decker and Stanley merged in 2010.
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