Vinocur v. Spartina 449 LLC

On April 4, 2019, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Spartina 449 LLC (“Spartina 449”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Spartina 449 sold vinyl journal covers 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, Spartina 449 agreed not to sell any vinyl journal covers in California after April 5, 2019, unless the covers contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $21,800, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.