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On December 22, 2025, the Department of Justice
("DOJ") and the Consumer Product Safety Commission
("CPSC") filed a civil enforcement action against Stanley
Black & Decker, Inc. alleging violations of the Consumer
Product Safety Act ("CPSA"). This filing is the first
CPSA enforcement action brought by the DOJ Civil Division's
newly established Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch,
the formation of which was announced on September 22, 2025
(replacing the former Consumer Protection Branch
("CPB")).
For background on DOJ's reorganization creating the Enforcement
& Affirmative Litigation Branch, see our September 26, 2025
Legal Update, DOJ Eliminates the Consumer Protection Branch and
Creates New Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch.
For additional context on DOJ's Criminal Division realignment,
including the creation of the Health & Safety Unit, see our
December 9, 2025 Legal Update, DOJ Establishes Health & Safety Unit within
the Criminal Division's Fraud Section.
Overview and Allegations
The CPSA requires manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of
consumer products to report "immediately" to CPSC
information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product
contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or
presents an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.
The complaint alleges that Stanley Black & Decker knowingly
failed to immediately report information about potential hazardous
defects or unreasonable safety risks associated with certain
utility bars and miter saws and seeks monetary civil penalties and
injunctive relief, including compliance-related measures designed
to prevent future violations of the CPSA.
Why This Matters
This case is the first CPSA-related civil enforcement action brought by the DOJ Civil Division's newly formed Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch, the successor to CPB. As we explained in our September 26, 2025 Legal Update, the new Branch assumed CPB's civil enforcement portfolio. The filing signals continued and coordinated federal attention to consumer product safety enforcement and underscores DOJ's ongoing willingness to partner with CPSC to pursue civil penalties and structural compliance remedies where the agencies believe that a company has delayed or refrained from reporting under the CPSA.
Historical Context
Before the September 2025 reorganization, CPB served as the Department's centralized hub for both civil and criminal enforcement related to consumer health and safety, including matters arising under the CPSA. CPB regularly coordinated with CPSC regarding investigations of potential product hazards and to pursue civil penalties, injunctive relief, and compliance undertakings in federal court, while also exercising criminal authority in cases involving willful violations, fraud, obstruction, or false statements tied to product safety.
With CPB's dissolution, the Civil Division's Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch has assumed leadership of civil affirmative enforcement previously handled by CPB. In parallel, the Criminal Division has established a dedicated Health & Safety Unit within the Fraud Section, staffed in part by former CPB prosecutors, to investigate and prosecute criminal misconduct involving safety harms. While this new structure underscores DOJ's continued emphasis on both civil and criminal accountability in safety-related cases, companies should be mindful that the redistribution of CPB responsibilities may require more careful coordination in matters that involve both civil remedies and potential criminal exposure.
Practical Takeaways
- Refresh reporting protocols: Ensure written policies define what constitutes reportable information, set internal deadlines, and assign clear ownership and internal accountability for assessments and regulatory filings.
- Escalate early; investigate in parallel: Initiate prompt hazard assessments, even before any serious injuries occur, and evaluate whether to submit an initial report to the regulators while technical analysis proceeds.
- Centralize responsibility to review incident data: Ensure centralized review of all customer complaints, warranty claims, returns, field reports, and litigation allegations to detect patterns that may trigger reporting obligations. Consider using data mining technology to assist in pattern detection.
- Document decision-making: Draft and maintain memoranda capturing the basis for determinations, inputs considered, and approvals.
- Invest in training: Educate product development, quality assurance, customer service, and sales personnel on spotting and escalating potential issues.
- Plan for corrective action: Pre-draft recall and remediation playbooks, vendor communication templates, and customer outreach strategies to enable swift action if needed.
- Governance and oversight: Provide regular briefings to senior leadership on product safety metrics and reporting decisions.
Looking Ahead
Consumer product manufacturers and sellers should expect active consumer protection enforcement by the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch in coordination with CPSC and should evaluate their CPSA compliance programs accordingly, to ensure they can promptly detect, escalate, and report safety issues – and mitigate risk if issues arise. Companies also should anticipate potential parallel criminal scrutiny by the Health & Safety Unit where the facts suggest willful misconduct or concealment, even when civil remedies are pursued (as outlined in our December 9, 2025 Legal Update).
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