Leeman Settles With Dick’s Sporting Goods Re: DEHP in Cooking Utensils

Dr. Whitney R. Leeman has negotiated a successful settlement with Dick’s Sporting Goods regarding alleged violations of Proposition 65.  Leeman had alleged that Dick’s Sporting Goods sold cooking utensils with vinyl/PVC grips that contained the phthalate chemical DEHP without the requisite health hazard warning.  DEHP is known to the State of California to cause birth defects and/or other reproductive harm, and under Proposition 65 law, companies offering products for sale that contain DEHP must provide consumers with a “clear and reasonable” warning of the risks of exposure.

In addition to paying civil penalties, Dick’s Sporting Goods has agreed to sell only cooking utensils that are virtually free of not only DEHP, but additional phthalate chemicals DBP, BBP, and DINP that are also known to cause cancer, birth defects, and/or other reproductive harm.  Products that do not meet the reformulation requirements must be accompanied by a Proposition 65 warning.

For more details and to read the settlement itself, please see the case summary on our website: Leeman v. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.