Brimer v. Empire Level Mfg. Corp.

On June 24, 2011, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Empire Level Mfg. Corp, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that the defendant Empire Level Mfg. Corp. ("Empire Level") sold tape measure products with grips containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement agreement, Empire Level agreed not to sell any tape measure products with grips in California after October 1, 2010, unless the tape measures contain less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $31,500, to be 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.