CPSC, Sears, Roebuck And Co. And Roper Corp. Settle Rototiller Suit

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Roper Corporation of Kankakee, Illinois, today announced settlement of an administrative complaint involving approximately 200,000 rototillers made by Roper and sold by Sears and Roper between 1963 and 1980.

The complaint, filed by the Commission against the two firms last February, alleged that the companies did not give adequate notice in a recall of the rototillers, and that they failed to meet the legal requirements for timely reporting of a potential problem to the Commission. Sears and Roper have agreed to a broader public notice campaign. Roper will make payment of $175,000 for the alleged reporting violation. The Commission has accepted these actions in resolution of all the allegations in the complaint.

The firms will continue the recall program, begun last February, which offers tiller owners a repair kit for the machine. The kit eliminates a clutch lock that allows users to lock the machine in reverse gear as well as forward. Consumers have reported serious injuries, including broken legs and amputations. These injuries allegedly occurred when the operators' legs were caught in the machines' tines while they were operating locked in reverse. The Commission warns consumers not to use the rototillers until the machines have been modified, and then to use extra care when using the tillers in reverse.

The firms have agreed to conduct an expanded advertising campaign to help inform consumers of the hazards associated with the rototillers and the availability of the kit. Ads will be placed in garden magazines and in national publications, including Parade and Family Weekly.

Sears sold 200,000 of these tillers under the name "Roto-Spader," "Sears" and "Craftsman." The tillers carry model numbers beginning with the figure 917. Another 3,000 tillers were sold under the Roper brand name "Giant Tiller," and have one of the following model numbers: D 84351 RO, D 84351 R1, D 84361 R1, D 54252 RO, D 54252 R1, D 44152 RO, D 44152 R1.

For more information, consumers may contact Roper Corporation toll-free at (800) 435-5117 or, within Illinois, collect at (815) 937-6856; any Sears store: or the CPSC toll-free Hotline: (800) 638-CPSC.