PA Attorney General Sues Pittsburgh Robot Toy Manufacturer

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has filed a lawsuit against an East Liberty-based company robotics toy company for what she alleges are its numerous failures to fulfill orders, issue refunds or respond to consumer requests.

The lawsuit was filed against Digital Dream Labs, which marketed several in-home companion robots named Vector 2.0, Cozmo 2.0 and the Butter Robot. According to Henry's office, appoximately 14,000 orders for the robots were placed between November 2020 and January 2024, most of which were not fulfilled.

Customers who prepaid were not provided refunds or updates on delays, according to the suit, which seeks restitution for consumers, civil penalties and costs. The suit also seeks to prohibit Digital Dreams Labs from accepting prepayment for products in Pennsylvania.

“Consumers paid significant costs for these products, never received them, and were left out in the cold when they asked for updates or refunds,” Henry said in a release. “This suit seeks to make Pennsylvania consumers whole while holding the company accountable for neglecting buyers.”

The lawsuit accuses Digital Dream Labs and CEO Harold Jacob Hanchar of violating Pennsylvania’s consumer protection law by:

• Failing to provide prepaid merchandise in a timely manner.

• Making misrepresentations as to advertised delivery dates.

• Failing to notify consumers of their right to cancel and denied consumers the ability to cancel undelivered orders.

• Failing to issue prompt, full refunds to consumers.

According to Henry's office, consumers paid between $147 and $655 for each robot, resulting in sales of more than $4 million.

The lawsuit alleges that, despite the passage of several years, Digital Dream Labs has failed to deliver any of the Cozmo 2.0 and Butter Robot orders, and has also failed to deliver many of the Vector 2.0 orders.

The lawsuit, along with restitution and civil penalties and costs, seeks to permanently prevent Digital Dream Labs and Hanchar from engaging in any business practices in violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law - including banning them from taking advanced payment for any future sales of goods.