Brimer v. KC HiLiTES, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling party KC HiLiTES, Inc. (“KCH”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement on June 16, 2015.  Brimer had alleged that KCH sold vinyl/PVC light covers 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, KCH agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC light covers in California after June 11, 2015, unless the light covers contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or bear a Proposition 65 warning pursuant to section 2.3 of the agreement.  Should KCH provide Brimer with written certification by December 15, 2015 that all vinyl/PVC light covers sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,750, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Brimer and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.