Brimer v. Blooming Import, Inc.

On June 17, 2017, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling party Blooming Import, Inc. (“Blooming”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Brimer had alleged that Blooming sold dried teas containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Blooming agreed not to sell any dried teas in California after June 17, 2017, unless the tea is virtually free of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $19,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Brimer and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.