Brimer v. Leap Year Publishing, LLC, et al.

On January 4, 2013, the parties executed a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Leap Year Publishing, LLC, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer’s allegations that the defendant Leap Year Publishing, LLC (“Leap Year”) sold planners/calendars with vinyl 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, Leap Year agreed not to sell any planners/calendars with covers in California after January 15, 2013, unless the planners/calendars contain less than .1% of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Leap Year meet these heightened standards by October 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $36,000, 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.