Brimer v. Restoration Hardware, Inc.; et al.

On February 8, 2012, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment and Proposition 65 Settlement in Brimer v. Restoration Hardware, Inc.; et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that the defendant Restoration Hardware, Inc. ("Restoration Hardware") sold tape measures containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. Brimer also alleged that additional products sold by Restoration Hardware in California, including welder's goggles, luggage tags, golf rangefinders and decorative mugs, contained phthalate chemicals such as di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP"), butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP"), and di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP").

As part of the settlement, Restoration Hardware agreed not to sell any tape measures or additional covered products in California after February 1, 2011 unless the products contain less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Restoration Hardware also agreed to place Proposition 65 warnings on the products it did not reformulate. A portion of the civil fine was credited due to Restoration Hardware's commitment to comply by these heightened standards.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $110,000, 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.