Justice Department sues awning manufacturer for alleged delays in reporting problems

The Justice Department is suing a Malden manufacturer and retailer of window awnings over alleged delays in reporting a potentially hazardous defect linked to several injuries and one death. The civil complaint alleges that SunSetter Products LP failed to notify the Consumer Products Safety Commission promptly after it first received safety complaints about its motorized retractable awnings in 2012. SunSetter delayed filing reports until late 2017, weeks after it learned of the death of a 73-year man allegedly due to a defect in the company’s retractable awnings, according to a civil complaint filed by the Justice Department last week in US District Court in Boston. The allegations concern vinyl covers used when the awning is retracted and rolled up for protection from off-season weather. The covers in question were held in place by bungee tie-downs provided by SunSetter. Over the years, SunSetter received complaints from customers who released the awning by removing the tie-downs, the complaint says. The problem stemmed from the fact that some consumers did not realize the motorized awning — remotely controlled — was inadvertently turned on, the complaint says. In those cases, once the tie-backs were removed, the motorized awning suddenly and unexpectedly surged forward, the complaint says. In September 2017, “a 73-year-old man died after falling from a ladder and over a balcony when the motorized awning opened unexpectedly and struck him while he was removing the cover’s bungee tie-downs,” according to the complaint and a 2019 recall alert issued by CPSC. About a month later, SunSetter “for the first time” submitted a report to the CPSC, the complaint says. “By that time, SunSetter had received at least 14 reports of its awnings unexpectedly opening … four of which were reports of consumers being injured, including one who died.” In a statement, a spokesperson for SunSetter disputed the allegations, saying it “promptly” reported the “potential issue.” “We plan to vigorously defend this matter,” the statement says. “While we don’t comment on pending legal matters, SunSetter disagrees with the action taken by the [Justice Department], disputes the allegations set forth in the complaint, and disagrees with the CPSC’s characterization of the facts,” the statement says. “At SunSetter, we have a long-standing commitment to consumer safety and to producing high quality and durable products,” the statement says.