Lacks Home Products Files Unfair Competition Lawsuit Against Home Depot For China-Made Product

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Apr 22, 2016, 09:15 ET

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lacks Home Products, LLC, an affiliate of global manufacturer Lacks Enterprises, Inc., announced it has filed an unfair competition lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Home Depot USA, Inc. In the lawsuit, Lacks asserts that Home Depot and its sourcing subsidiary HD Supply committed patent infringement, breach of a prior settlement agreement, and fraudulent misrepresentation, among other counts surrounding Lacks' Coach House Accents® patented garage door enhancement products. Lacks seeks monetary damages and a permanent injunction prohibiting further sales by Home Depot and HD Supply of the infringing China-made product.

Lacks Home Products' premium garage door enhancements (left) come with a 15-year warranty. The similar Home Depot product (right) allegedly deteriorates in as little as six months.

Coach House Accents is a line of garage door improvement products, including decorative simulated window overlays, handles and hinges that allow a homeowner to enhance the appearance of their home exterior at a reasonable cost. Lacks invented and patented the product and created the garage door enhancement category. Soon after Lacks launched its proprietary garage door accents, Home Depot's HD Supply subsidiary worked with a Chinese manufacturer to make a nearly identical product, but with alleged inferior materials and quality.

Lacks initially filed a patent infringement suit in 2012 against HD Supply before reaching a settlement agreement whereby all parties agreed to a license for Home Depot to manufacture and sell the garage door enhancement product, and HD Supply agreed to consider the design and quality concerns which Lacks had raised regarding the existing HD Supply product.

The current lawsuit asserts unfair competition and uncorrected quality issues with the garage door accents sold at Home Depot. The suit also details escalating consumer complaints based on the fact that the white window panels developed by HD Supply show rapid deterioration and signs of yellowing, particularly in regions of the country known for high ultraviolet (UV) exposure or extreme weather. Lacks conducted standard testing procedures on the Home Depot products, which confirmed these consumer allegations. In contrast, the premium, color-molded garage door accent products made by Lacks are sold for the same price and include a 15-year warranty.

"We simply want to protect consumers and ask Home Depot to stop selling their inferior and patent infringing garage accent product," said Tim Grant, Product Manager for Lacks Home Products. "The reality is this is a small segment for both Lacks and Home Depot, but this is a matter of consumer protection as well as fairness and a level playing field for American engineering and manufacturing."

Consumers who have purchased the Home Depot garage door accents product and are experiencing fading, deterioration or other quality issues are encouraged to visit an informational website at www.CoachHouseAccents.com/ConsumerProtection. The product is not manufactured by Lacks and Home Depot does not offer a warranty, but Lacks is offering information and help on repair or replacement options.

About Lacks Home Products, LLC
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Lacks Home Products manufactures and markets a line of home exterior products that add character and charm to your home with products and reliability previously not available. Made in the USA with a one-of-a-kind, 15-year warranty, Lacks Home Products provides homeowners a high-value solution to their home exterior needs. Lacks Home Products is an affiliate of Lacks Enterprises, one of the world's leading manufacturers of exterior trim and wheel components for the global automotive market for more than 50 years. Lacks has 22 facilities and more than 1.6 million square feet of production across the U.S. and Europe and serves nearly all of the major automakers worldwide.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358765

SOURCE Lacks Home Products, LLC