Vinocur v. Mackarl Enterprises

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against defendant Mackarl Enterprises, Inc. (“Mackarl”) were resolved on November 18, 2015, when the parties entered into an out-of-court settlement.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that Mackarl sold padded upholstered furniture containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) and tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (“TCEP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Mackarl agreed not to sell any upholstered chairs with foam padding sin California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the furniture contains no detectable amount of TDCPP, TCEP, and tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $28,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.