Brimer v. Melnor, Inc.

On July 27, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Melnor, Inc., which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that the defendant Melnor, Inc. ("Melnor"), sold watering guns/nozzles with hand grips containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP"), di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP"), and the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Melnor agreed not to sell any watering guns/nozzles with hand grips containing materials or other components that may be handled, touched or mouthed by a consumer in California, unless the guns/nozzles yield  less than 100 parts per million of lead and no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and/or DBP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $48,000, 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.