Brimer and Held v. Nationwide Trading Corporation

On September 16, 2010, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Toys "R" Us, Inc.; et al., which resolved citizen enforcers Russell Brimer's and Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Nationwide Trading Corporation ("NTC") sold colored, vinyl-coated paper fasteners containing the heavy metal lead and feeding bottle nipples 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 agreement, NTC agreed not to sell any paper fasteners or feeding bottle nipples in California after October 1, 2009, unless the fasteners contain less than 300 parts per million of lead and the bottles contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies. Additionally, NTC agreed to notify its vendors and request that the fasteners and bottle nipples either be labeled with Proposition 65 health hazard warnings or returned to NTC.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $25,000, to be divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblowers Brimer, Held, and their counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.