Brimer v. California Pak International, Inc.

On June 6, 2011, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant California Pak International, Inc. ("California Pak"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that California Pak sold duffel bags containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite Proposition 65 warnings.

As part of the settlement, California Pak agreed not to sell any duffel bags in California after June 16, 2011, unless the duffel bags contain less than 100 parts per million of lead and less than 1.0 microgram of lead in each accessible component that may be touched or mouthed when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. California Pak also agreed to place Proposition 65 warnings on the duffel bags that will not be reformulated pursuant to Section 2.2 of the Settlement Agreement. Due to California Pak's commitment to comply by these heightened standards, Brimer agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $57,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Brimer and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.