Brimer v. Dollar Empire, LLC

On June 22, 2011, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Dollar Empire, LLC, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that the defendant Dollar Empire, LLC ("Dollar Empire") sold vinyl-coated paper fasteners in the State of California containing the heavy metal lead without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Dollar Empire agreed not to distribute or sell any vinyl-coated paper fasteners in California after May 15, 2011, unless the paper fasteners yield no more than 1.0 microgram of residual lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $18,500, 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.