Brimer v. Jack Richeson & Company, Inc.

In the enforcement action Brimer v. Jack Richeson & Company, Inc., the parties executed a Consent Judgment on April 30, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer’s allegations that the defendant Jack Richeson & Company, Inc. (“Jack Richeson”) sold vinyl/PVC art supply pouches containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Jack Richeson agreed not to sell any art supply pouches in California after April 30, 2013, unless the pouches contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible components when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Jack Richeson provide written certification that all pouches sold in California after April 30, 2013, and continuing into the future, qualify as reformulated, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $50,000, 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.