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Make a better mousetrap and the world will be on its way to your door-but if you make such a bad mousetrap, you will be judged for fraud.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Manhattan ordered Bell and Howell to face a class action lawsuit on the grounds that the ultrasonic insect repellent they sold on the home shopping network for $40 per pack did not work-in fact, it made the mouse want to embrace it.

Judge William Pauly pointed to the photo that showed a group of rodents hanging on the device-one of them appeared to be dozing off.

"As the photo shows, the mouse can obviously relax comfortably under the insect repellent, and even seems to be attracted by the sound of its sirens, so that people will climb the wall just to take a nap on it," the judge said of the attachment to his ruling. Said when the photo.

The judge said: "This makes this court want to know how BHH can argue that there are no major factual disputes regarding validity."

According to court documents, BHH, which owns the Bell and Howell trademarks, argued that consumers should be aware that insect repellents have certain limitations.

According to BHH, the signals from these devices "will be absorbed by soft objects such as carpets and reflected by hard surfaces such as furniture."

But the judge rejected this argument, saying that BHH should tell the jury.

"Judge Poly's order is a huge victory for more than 1 million class members who have purchased Bell and Howell insect repellents," said lawyer Yitz Kopel.

A lawyer for BHH called the ruling “disappointing” and challenged the photos used in the client's fraud claim.

"Unfortunately, this photo was taken by the plaintiff's paid expert in stages and without verification, and was included in the order," said lawyer Adam McCabe.

"Many scientists and laboratories have tested ultrasonic insect repellents to confirm their effectiveness," he added. "Our customers support their products and the effectiveness of their products."