The legal action comes following numerous reports of injuries to children; it is the first stop-sale requested by the CPSC in 11 years.

An administrative complaint was filed against distributor Maxfield and Oberton Holdings LLC of New York by the CPSC, alleging that the Buckyballs and Buckycubes contain a defect in the design, packaging, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury to the public. The CPSC is asking that the company cease selling the products because injuries involving small children and teenagers, who had swallowed the small magnetic pieces have only increased despite safety warnings and previous recalls of the product.

"You might have heard there's a problem with our products...This is not true," reads a statement by Maxfield and Oberton on the Buckyballs website. "A government agency (the Consumer Product Safety Commission) is saying they should be recalled because children occasionally get ahold of them. This is unfair. We market exclusively to adults. We are vigorously defending our right to market these products you love."