Brimer v. Sunny Designs, Inc.

On December 13, 2011, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer and settling defendant Sunny Designs, Incorporated ("Sunny Designs") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Brimer's allegations that Sunny Designs sold stools containing the heavy metal lead and 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, Sunny Design agreed not to sell any stools in California after December 30, 2011, unless the stools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Sunny Design's commitment to comply by these heightened standards and cooperation during the settlement process, Brimer agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,000, 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.