Fisher-Price and its parent company, Mattel are two of he most respected toy companies in the market, but even they make mistakes when it comes to the safety of some of their toys, as Teresa Raatz a concerned mother, found out when she bought her child the 3-in-1 SnugaPuppy Activity Center.
While the toy itself seems safe, it comes with a detachable toy included, a tissue box accessory which, when it falls apart, has small brackets. While this would not be a problem in an other product, a toy meant for small children should not have these as they could easily end up in a toddler’s mouth and pose a serious choking risk. The issue was flagged in an official recall issued on April 10, but Raatz believes the problem had been known by the companies long before that. That is why she chose to file a class action lawsuit in federal court in New York, alleging the companies knowingly sold a dangerous product.
The Fisher-Price 3-in-1 SnugaPuppy Activity Center a danger to children
The product has been sold for a while now, according to Raatz, around 15,300 of these activity centers were sold between November 2022 and February 2025, through both physical retail stores and online platforms, all with the same issue despite being advertised as suitable for young children. In her complaint, Raatz accuses both Fisher-Price and Mattel of marketing the product as safe despite the clear hazard and claimed that they had a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that these products were safe for their intended audience, as parents are meant to trust the toy companies when they say that a product is suitable for an age group.
As the lawsuit states “Plaintiff and consumers do not know, and did not have a reason to know, that the Product purchased carried the potential for choking hazards. Consumers expect the products they purchased to be safe, especially products aimed towards children.”
The part that will likely be harder to prove is her claim that Fisher-Price knew about the issues with 3-in-1 SnugaPuppy Activity Center and decided to continue selling the product without calling for a recall or changing the questionable part, which put even more lives at risk because of profits. The lawsuit explicitly claims this by saying “Defendants were aware of the risk associated with the Product since its sales between November 2022 through February 2025.”
Families that trusted Fisher-Price now are out of the money this toy cost, as they cannot in good faith resell it or give it to their children to use, as it is a known hazard and thus could be dangerous. That is also why Raatz is seeking to represent a nationwide class of people who bought or used the 3-in-1 SnugaPuppy Activity Center and not just settle her case individually, she is pushing for a jury trial and asking for both declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as financial damages for everyone impacted.
For now, the lawsuit goes ahead, and she is represented by attorneys Jason P. Sultzer of Sultzer & Lipari PLLC and Paul J. Doolittle of Poulin Willey Anastopoulo LLC. The case has been filed under *Raatz v. Fisher-Price Inc., et al.*, Case No. 1:25-cv-00357, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, so anyone that wishes to join will have to contact them at some point in order to add their name to the plaintiff list.
While this case seems to be particularly egregious, especially if Fisher-Price did know about the hazard, it is not the first time the company has been called out over product safety concerns. Their Snuga Swings, in the market since 2010, were alleged to be “dangerously defective” as well provoking suffocation risks for infants.