Moore v. Orgill, Inc.

Citizen enforcer John Moore’s allegations against the defendant Orgill, Inc. (“Orgill”) were resolved on April 22, 2013, when the parties executed a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Orgill, Inc.  In this enforcement action, which will be reviewed by the Alameda County Superior Court, Moore alleged that Orgill sold tools with grips and PVC/vinyl rainwear containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Orgill agreed not to sell any PVC/vinyl rainwear or tools with grips bearing the specific labels identified in the Consent Judgment in California after May 30, 2013, unless the products contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Additionally, by May 30, 2013, Orgill agreed to provide the vendors with the reformulation standards and instruct them to provide products that comply expeditiously.  Should Orgill provide written certification that all covered products sold in California are reformulated by December 15, 2013, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.  In lieu of additional civil penalties, Orgill agreed to make a cy pres payment to Silent Spring Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to identifying the links between exposure to environmental chemicals (including DEHP) and reproductive and developmental harm.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $105,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.