Brimer v. Jay Import Company, Inc.

On May 22, 2012, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant Jay Import Company, Inc. ("Jay Import"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that Jay Import sold mugs with colored artwork or designs on the exterior containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Jay Import agreed not to sell any mugs with colored artwork or designs on the exterior in California after May 15, 2012, unless the mugs contain no detectable amount of lead in the lip-and rim area of the product (top 20 millimeters of the products) and no more than 50 parts per million of lead content, exclusive of the lip-and-rim area, when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Jay Import's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Brimer agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $23,500, 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.