In eight cities across the country, The Chanler Group, on behalf of the citizen enforcers and other whistleblowers it represents, seeks to uncover toxic chemical exposures and government fraud in our everyday lives, to hold those entities responsible for such violations of state and federal law accountable to the public, and to effectuate change for a cleaner environment.
To arrange an interview or to request information regarding The Chanler Group or one of our cases related to Prop 65, CPSIA, False Claims Act or Renewable Energy, please contact our manager of media relations.
Excerpted from the full article at Forbes:
Clever moneymaking scheme: Visit any doctor or dentist in California. If you don't see signs warning you that the physician is using potentially harmful chemicals as defined by the state's Proposition 65 (e.g., mercury fillings), haul him into court and demand $2,500 for each day he didn't post the warnings. You get 25% of the loot, the state 75%.
Just such a case was filed by Morse Mehrban, a Los Angeles lawyer who has made Prop. 65... full text
Excerpted from the full length article in Prop. 65 News:
LaMura, who at one point held up a plastic bag filled with a sample of resin “so we can put a face on it,” added, “The levels of exposure for our manufacturing plant are within the requirements for OSHA, while [As You Sow] will have you believe that the vapors escaping from the quarter-inch opening of nail polish are harmful and require a warning label.”
La Mura, like other small business owners who testified, had... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at the San Francisco Daily Journal:
The measure [SB1269] allows private organizations to keep 25% of any of the money they win in penalties. Such cases rarely go to trial, however, and in the past some groups have come under fire for reaching settlements that gave plaintiffs huge attorney fees and relatively low penalties; the latter must be shared with state and local agencies.
In 1994, for example, the attorney general accused one prominent Proposition... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
In the dog days of summer, it appears that even Proposition 65 enforcers relax. From July 16 through August 31, the attorney general’s office reported a substantial downturn in filing of 60-day notices. The tally for the six-week period: a mere 119.
The notices, as usual, sounded a mix of new themes and familiar refrains. On the familiar side were 18 cigar-sales notices against hotel chains from Southern California private enforcer... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
A long standing attempt to extend the reach of Proposition 65 through-out the entire chain of a product’s distribution, including into the manufacturing and processing workplaces of out-of-state companies, has fallen apart in San Francisco Superior Court.
In the face of a pair of adverse rulings last year by Judge Stuart Pollak drastically narrowing the litigation which themselves followed an even more critical decision in 1997 by... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
As You Sow’s complaint against Clifford Chanler is based on a mixture of contract, tort and statutory theories, including breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and misappropriation of trade secrets. In addition to Chanler, it names private litigant Michael DiPirro, and attorneys David Bush and Eric Somers as codefendants under at least some of these theories.
The breach of contract allegation centers on billing... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
In a preliminary skirmish in his fee dispute with As You Sow, AYS’s former attorney, Clifford Chanler, won then lost $159,611 in fees and costs from his former client.
The heart of the procedurally complex case is a claim by AYS that Chanler overbilled the organization during the four years he represented it, from 1992 to 1996. Chanler, however, took the offensive by arguing that AYS still owed him nearly $160,000 in costs for... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
Private enforcer Michael DiPirro resolved four soldering-supply cases for warnings and $223,399 in fees and penalties.
One accord, entered on April 15 with Newell CO. (Bernzomatic), called for $15,300 in civil penalties, plus $9,000 in pre-notice investigation fees, $13,050 for expert, investigation and litigation costs, and $29,350 in attorney’s fees. DiPirro was represented by Clifford Chanler co-counsel David Bush; Newell was... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 News:
As You Sow, one of the earliest and most prolific plaintiff groups pursuing cases under Proposition 65, has sued its longtime attorney, Clifford Chanler, for allegedly inflating his bills and misappropriating confidential information for his own use.
The lawsuit centers on approximately $6 million in fees and costs Chanler purportedly received from lawsuits filed on the organization’s behalf over a six-year period...
...Chanler,... full text
Excerpted from the full length article at SF Gate:
As You Sow filed lawsuit against Ashland Chemical Co. for violations of California's toxic substance law, Proposition 65, for products including cleaning solvents, adhesives, resins and paint thinners. The major chemical company has agreed to put new health warnings on its products and pay up to $1.1 million in fines and expenses as part of their settlement. link to source. full text
