Fines For Dangerous Coffee Carafes

A federal court in Madison ordered Spectrum Brands Inc., a large consumer products distributor, to pay $1.9 million in civil penalties for failing to report dangerously defective Black & Decker SpaceMaker coffee carafes. They also continued to distribute the carafes following a recall. The court noted that between 2008 and 2012, Spectrum received approximately 1,600 reports of broken SpaceMaker carafe handles, with about 66 consumers referencing burns from spilled coffee, and three others referencing cuts from broken carafe glass.