Brimer v. Design for All, LLC

On August 3, 2011, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant Design for All, LLC ("Design for All"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that Design for All sold belts containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Design for All agreed not to manufacture any belts in California after July 30, 2011, unless the belts contain components which may be handled, touched, or mouthed by a consumer, and yield less than 1.0 microgram of lead when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Design for All's commitment to comply by these heightened standards and cooperation during the settlement process, Brimer agreed to credit a portion of the civil penalties that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,000, 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.