Brimer v. Visual Land, Inc.

On January 31, 2014, the parties involved in the enforcement action Brimer v. Visual Land, Inc., et al., executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Russell Brimer alleged that the defendant Visual Land, Inc. (“Visual Land”) sold vinyl/PVC headphone cords containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Visual Land agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC headphone cords in California after January 31, 2014, unless the cords contain no more than 90 parts per million of lead in any accessible part when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Additionally, Visual Land will provide its vendors with the reformulation standards by February 10, 2014, and instruct them to provide cords that comply expeditiously.  Should Visual Land provide written certification that all headphone cords sold in California after July 16, 2014, and continuing into the future, qualify as reformulated, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $77,500, 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.