Brimer v. Skullcandy, Inc.

In the enforcement action Brimer v. Skullcandy, Inc. the parties executed a Consent Judgment on April 15, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer’s allegations that the defendant Skullcandy, Inc. (“Skullcandy”) sold headphones with vinyl/PVC ear cushions 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, Skullcandy agreed not to sell any headphones in California after September 1, 2013, unless the headphones contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Skullcandy provide written certification that all headphones sold in California after September 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, qualify as reformulated, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.  In lieu of further civil penalties, Skullcandy also agreed to make a cy pres payment to the Silent Spring Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to understanding the links between environmental chemicals (including DEHP) and reproductive and developmental harm.   

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $90,000, 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.