FTC Sues Lights of America Over LEDs

Sept. 10, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit to stop California-based lamp manufacturer Lights of America and its principals from allegedly exaggerating

The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit to stop California-based lamp manufacturer Lights of America and its principals from allegedly exaggerating the light output and life expectancy of its light emitting diode (LED) lamps.

The agency's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Sept. 7, alleges that since 2008, Lights of America, Inc., Walnut, Calif., has overstated the light output and life expectancy of its LED bulbs on packages and in brochures. The agency also charges that Lights of America misled consumers about how the brightness of its LED bulbs compares to traditional incandescent lamps. Lights of America owners Usman Vakil, president, and Farooq Vakil, executive vice president, were also named in the suit. In filing the complaint, the FTC is seeking a permanent injunction to stop the defendants' allegedly illegal conduct, as well as monetary redress for consumers who bought the deceptively labeled products.

The FTC alleges that in many instances, Lights of America's LED bulbs produced significantly less light, as measured in lumens, than the company claimed in its promotional materials. For example, one bulb was promoted as producing 90 lumens of light output, but Lights of America's own tests showed it produced only 43 lumens.

In many cases, alleges the FTC, Lights of America deceptively compared the brightness of its LED light bulbs with incandescent bulbs. For example, the firm claimed that one of its LED lantern bulbs could replace a 40W incandescent bulb. However, while the typical 40W incandescent bulb produces about 400 lumens, the Lights of America LED bulb produced only 74 lumens, the FTC said.

Moreover, the FTC complaint states that in many instances, Lights of America's LED bulbs would not last as long as the company's promotional materials said they would. In one case, for example, the firm said that one of its LED recessed bulbs would last 30,000 hours. Independent tests, however, showed that the bulb would not last as long as claimed because it lost 80 percent of its light output after only 1,000 hours, according to the FTC.

Neither the official filing documents nor the press release from the FTC announcing the lawsuit specified how the Commission determined performance of the Lights of America lamps. The Department of Energy has had a program in place for testing LED lamps against their manufacturers' published claims, an effort to aid adoption of the highly efficient lighting technology by creating performance standards and assuring that the lamps meet customer expectations. The FTC did not say which testing agency it used to evaluate the LEDs in question.

The Commission voted 5-0 to authorize the filing of the complaint. The FTC authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law.