Brimer v. Norpro

The dispute between citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and defendant Norpro originally resolved in Brimer v. The Boelter Companies, et al., was recently reviewed when Brimer alleged that Norpro had sold glassware that violated the terms of the Consent Judgment.  To read the terms of the original Consent Judgment dated August 17, 2005, please click here.  On January 15, 2013, Brimer and Norpro entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement resolving Brimer’s allegations that Norpro sold glassware with colored artwork or designs that contained the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings

As part of the settlement, Norpro agreed not to sell any glassware in California after January 15, 2013, unless the glassware contains no colored decoration in the lip-and-rim area and the interior food/beverage area and contains no more than 100 parts per million of lead content in the decorating materials when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Norpro comply with these heightened standards by January 1, 2014, 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 $195,000, 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.