Facts

Plaintiff filed a complaint against defendant for civil penalties and injunctive relief pursuant to Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that defendant manufactured, imported, sold, or distributed for sale in certain California vinyl/PVC safety vests and gloves with vinyl/PVC components that contained the chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), as well as certain tent/shelter fabrics containing the chemicals tris(1,3-dichlor-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) and tris(2-chloroethyl) phospaste (TCEP) without the requisite Proposition 65 health warnings.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant denied plaintiff's allegations and contended that the products it sold were in compliance with the law. Defendant, having no knowledge that the subject products contained any of the alleged chemicals, purchased the commercially packaged equipment from a vendor of products (who is no longer in business), and relied on its reassurances as to the quality of said products.

Result

Pursuant to the settlement reached between the parties, defendant will only manufacture, distribute, purchase for sale, or sell in California the subject products if they contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1 percent) DEHP or no more than 25 parts per million of TDCPP or TCEP. Otherwise, the subject products must contain clear and reasonable warnings. Defendant will also pay $12,000 in civil penalties, with 75 percent paid to the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment and the remaining 25 percent paid to plaintiff. The final civil payment of $10,000 will be waived if defendant provides written certification that the subject products comply with Proposition 65, or that defendant no longer offers the subject products for sale in California. Additionally, defendant will reimburse plaintiff $17,000 in attorney fees and costs. Nothing in the parties' settlement, or defendant's compliance therewith, shall be construed as an admission of any fact, finding of law, issue of law, or violation of law.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Feb. 10, 2016.