DENVER — A lawsuit filed in federal court alleges Europtics, an eyeglasses retailer in Colorado, handed out faulty solar eclipse glasses before the Aug. 21 nationwide spectacle.
In federal documents, Castle Rock residents Kendal and Kim Heise allege they “received unsafe and hazardous eclipse glasses” from the Europtics store in Littleton as part of a promotion for new glasses.
The complaint said the Heises have experienced “blurred vision, increased sensitivity to light and distorted vision.”
They are seeking financial damages that “the court deems just and proper.”
RELATED: Lawsuit against Europtics
The Heises are not conducting media interviews nor is their attorney, Kevin Hannon.
The Hannon Law Firm, which is also suing Amazon for selling faulty glasses, is seeking class-action status.
Europtics sent a statement denying any responsibility while placing blame on Amazon.
“Europtics is in the process of investigating the allegations set forth in the class action litigation filed on September 2, 2017 in the District Court for the City and County of Denver. Europtics expressly denies any alleged liability for Plaintiffs’ claims. It is noteworthy that these allegations track, in some instances verbatim, the allegations made against Amazon in litigation recently commenced in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
To be clear, the Complaint against Europtics makes reference to Europtics purportedly distributing unsafe solar eclipse glasses to customers in conjunction with those customers’ purchases of prescription eyewear at Europtics. Any statement that Europtics sold eclipse glasses to customers is demonstrably false. The glasses provided to customers were purchased by Europtics from Amazon, which is the subject of the class action lawsuit referenced above.”
Dr. Raul Alderete, an optometrist in the Denver area, was surprised with the allegations against the company.
“I think of them as a quality, high-end optical retailer,” Alderete said, adding that “3 seconds” might be enough to suffer serious eye damage if the glasses were faulty.