Toro Co. Sues MTD Products Over Snow Thrower Patent

Toro Co. has filed a federal lawsuit accusing MTD Products of patent infringement in connection with Toro’s snow thrower designs.

The one-count lawsuit, filed March 11 in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, pertains to Toro’s 2006 patent of a snow thrower chute and deflector control.

Toro alleges MTD infringed on the patent through the manufacture and sale of their products, including Cub Cadet 500 Series Snow Throwers.

A copy of Toro’s patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,032,333) provided in the lawsuit describes the item in question as a “single joystick-type control handle that controls the chute and deflector of the snow thrower.”

The lawsuit alleges that MTD’s infringement has been “intentional, willful and deliberate” and asks for “an accounting of the profits and damages arising from the alleged infringement.”

Toro’s lawsuit also asks the court to stop MTD from using, making, importing or selling products causing the alleged infringement. Unspecified damages, legal fees and costs are also requested by Toro.

MTD Products, MTD Consumer Group and Cub Cadet LLC are listed as defendants in the lawsuit. No hearing date has been set.

At deadline for this newsletter, no comment was available from the company’s legal department and no response to the lawsuit had been filed.