Brimer et al. v. Wire and Cable Specialties, Inc.

The Honorable Mark H. Pierce of the Santa Clara County Superior Court granted the parties’ motion to approve the Consent Judgment in the case Brimer et al. v. 3M Company, et al., on October 23, 2012.  This enforcement action resolved citizen enforcers Russell Brimer, John Moore, and Peter Englander’s allegations that sixteen defendants, including Wire and Cable Specialties, Inc. (“Wire and Cable”), sold hand tools, garden tools, and/or kitchen utensils containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”), di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”), and the heavy metal lead.  The citizen enforcers specifically alleged that Wire and Cable sold hand tools containing DEHP, DBP, and BBP in California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Wire and Cable agreed not to sell any hand tools in California after September 15, 2012, unless the tools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP, DBP, and BBP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Wire and Cable agreed to provide the reformulation standards to its vendors by September 13, 2012, and instruct them to provide hand tools that comply with the reformulation standards expeditiously.  Because Wire and Cable was the subject of another Proposition 65 settlement filed by one of the citizen enforcers, Wire and Cable was required to pay a statutory penalty and a portion of the attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the time and expenses incurred in seeking judicial approval of the Consent Judgment.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $12,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblowers Brimer, Moore, and Englander and their counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.