Vinocur Settles With Midland Radio Re: Headsets and DEHP

Posted: 07/28/2015  browse the blog archive
Vinocur Settles With Midland Radio Re: Headsets and DEHP

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and Midland Radio Corporation have reached a settlement agreement regarding alleged violations of Proposition 65.  Vinocur alleged that Midland sold headsets with cords containing the phthalate chemical DEHP, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm, without the requisite health hazard warning.  Under Proposition 65 law, companies offering products for sale that contain DEHP must provide consumers with a “clear and reasonable” warning of the risk of exposure.

In addition to civil penalties, Midland has agreed to sell only headsets that have been reformulated to be virtually free of DEHP.  Should Midland accelerate the reformulation and provide Vinocur with certification that all its headsets are DEHP-free by October 1, 2015, Vinocur has agreed to waive part of the civil penalty.

For more details and to read the settlement itself, please see the case summary on our website: Vinocur v. Midland Radio Corporation

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.