Brimer v. TracFone Wireless, Inc. and Strax Americas, Inc.

 The parties involved in the enforcement action Brimer v. TracFone Wireless, Inc., et al. executed a Consent Judgment on September 15, 2014, which resolved citizen enforcer Russell Brimer’s allegations that the defendants TracFone Wireless, Inc. and Strax Americas, Inc. (collectively “TracFone”) sold headset cords 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, TracFone agreed not to sell any headset cords in California after September 1, 2014, unless the headset cords contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Strax Americas, Inc., provide written certification on behalf of both defendants by November 15, 2014, that all of the headset cords sold in California qualify as reformulated, Brimer agreed that the final civil penalty shall be waived in its entirety.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $45,000, 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.