No it's not normal. There's two things that you can try;

Firstly, with the handle down, look at the sled locking tabs that protrude out of the top. Sometimes they latch up against the case side. With a screwdriver, carefully pry them inwards so they can't do this. It might help to take the fascia off to do this.

The other thing that can cause the handle to stick is the fascia itself. The fascia is mounted to the display board but the handle is mounted to the case, so if the display is not square to the case, the fascia is not square to the handle. Loosen the 4 screws that hold the display board to the case and work the handle a few times. This should help reposition the display board. Don't forget to tighten the screws afterwards.