Brimer v. Four Seasons General Merchandise, Inc.

On August 2, 2010, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. ACCO Brands Corporation, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that the defendant Four Seasons General Merchandise, Inc. ("Four Seasons") sold colored, vinyl-coated paper fasteners and tape measures with hand straps containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Four Seasons agreed not to sell any colored, vinyl-coated paper fasteners or tape measures with hand straps in California after December 1, 2009, unless the fasteners and tape measures contain less than 300 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Additionally, Four Seasons requested that its customers either label the products with Proposition 65 health hazard warnings or return them to Four Seasons.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $40,000, 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.