Brimer v. The Gillette Company

On June 15, 2010, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant, The Gillette Company ("Gillette"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that Gillette sold flashlights which have straps containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Gillette agreed not to sell any flashlights with hand straps in California after June 1, 2010, unless the flashlights contain less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied should Gillette provide written certification that it complied with additional requirements set forth in the consent judgment.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $49,000, 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.