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DeWALT and parent company Black & Decker face a proposed class action that alleges their recall of DeWALT’s 12-inch sliding compound miter saws in August was “grossly inadequate” given that consumers received neither monetary relief nor direct notice that the “extraordinarily dangerous” product was being pulled from stores.

The 21-page lawsuit relays that the miter saw was voluntarily recalled by DeWALT on August 4 of this year because a “defect” could cause the product’s rear safety guard to break or detach, posing a significant laceration and projectile hazard and rendering the saw unusable. Due to the defect, the saw blade could become exposed, and DeWALT and Black & Decker have received “at least nine” reports of laceration injuries, the suit states. 

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The filing contends, however, that DeWALT and Black & Decker’s recall merely allowed the companies to “say [they] were doing right by [their] customers,” despite the fact that the recall notice was “only briefly publicized” and that the link to relevant recall information on the defendants’ website was “buried among a lengthy list of other links,” such that consumers “would not have a reason to follow the link if they did not already know about the recall.” 

Further, neither DeWALT nor Black & Decker emailed customers who bought the 12-inch sliding compound miter saw online, even though email notice would have been relatively low-cost and effective, the case says. 

The lawsuit states that the only relief offered by the recall was replacement saws. Consumers were not offered cash refunds in lieu of a replacement, and customers’ requests for cash refunds were “generally denied” by the defendants, the complaint says. 

Per the suit, the products covered in the DeWALT recall were manufactured between April 2019 and April 2022, and include the DWS779, DSW780, and DHS790 models. The case alleges DeWALT and Black & Decker, in light of online safety reports to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and negative product reviews, knew or should have known of the defect since at least 2019 yet continued to sell the miter saws anyway. Since April 2019, the defendants have received 571 reports from consumers regarding the rear safety guard assembly or related components breaking or detaching, the suit states. 

“At a minimum, such an unusually high number of reports about the same exact issue, as well as the severity of the injuries reported, should have alerted Defendants to the Defect and caused it to take immediate action to protect consumers,” the complaint reads, alleging DeWALT and Black & Decker “profited enormously” by failing to disclose the miter saw defect sooner. 

In all, more than 1.3 million DeWALT 12-inch sliding compound miter saws, which reportedly retail for between $600 and $820, were recalled across the United States and Canada. 

DeWALT has said consumers should stop using the recalled 12-inch sliding compound miter saw immediately. To contact DeWALT or request a repair kit, head to the manufacturer’s website here. Consumers can also take their DeWALT miter saw to an authorized repair center for free repairs. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who bought a DeWALT 12-inch sliding compound miter saw. 

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