Brimer v. Ganz U.S.A., LLC

On July 28, 2009, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant Ganz U.S.A., LLC ("Ganz") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that Ganz sold vinyl-coated tape measures containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Ganz agreed not to manufacture any vinyl-coated tape measures in California after July 31, 2009, unless the tape measures contain less than 600 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $17,800, 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.