DiPirro v. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, et al.

On December 16, 2008, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in DiPirro v. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, which resolved citizen enforcer Michael DiPirro's allegations that the defendant Applied Micro Circuits Corporation ("AMCC") sold controller cards, evaluation boards, switchboards, and integrated circuits, all with solder containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, AMCC agreed not to sell any controller cards, evaluation boards, switchboards, or integrated circuits in California after March 31, 2008, unless the products are sold or shipped with Proposition 65 warnings or contain less than .1% lead by weight in each solder material (unless the material is embedded in a manner that a consumer or worker would not come into contact with the lead during reasonably foreseeable use). Additionally, in a good faith effort to inform consumers about the risk of exposure to lead in AMCC's products received in inventory before March 31, 2008, AMCC shall provide a Proposition 65 warning on its website for three years. Due to AMCC's prompt cooperation during the settlement process and commitment to reformulation, DiPirro agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine. Should AMCC comply with the public information commitment before February 1, 2008, DiPirro agreed to waive an additional portion of the civil fine.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $90,000, to be divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower DiPirro and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.