Brimer v. Santa Barbara Ceramic Design, et al.

The San Francisco Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. Santa Barbara Ceramic Design, et al., on November 1, 2005, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer's allegations that defendant Santa Barbara Ceramic Design ("Santa Barbara") manufactured, distributed, and/or sold certain oil bottles and other glassware products with colored artwork, designs, or markings on the exterior surface with materials containing lead and/or cadmium in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. The products covered in this case are identified in Exhibit A to the Consent Judgment.

As part of the settlement, after April 1, 2005, Santa Barbara shall not transmit to any entity to sell or offer for sale in California any covered product containing lead and/or cadmium unless the covered product bears Proposition 65 warnings in accordance with Section 2.2 of the Consent Judgment, is otherwise exempt pursuant to Section 2.1(B), or complies with the reformulation standards of Section 2.3. Santa Barbara also commits to reformulation efforts of Section 2.4.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $58,200, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California 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.