DiPirro v. Engelhard Corporation, et al.

On March 1, 1999, Michael DiPirro and Engelhard Corporation entered into a settlement agreement which resolved citizen enforcer Michael DiPirro's allegations that Engelhard manufactured, distributed, or sold soldering, and welding products containing nickel, cadmium, chromium (hexavalent compounds), lead, and lead compounds in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

The terms of the parties' settlement require Engelhard to immediately implement and provide specific and prominent health hazard warnings on the product labels or on inserts placed in the packaging of the products that were already in the stream of commerce at the time the settlement agreement was reached. For the products sold by Engelhard to distributors, Engelhard stipulated to provide instructions to such distributors to transfer the warning to their customers. In addition, Engelhard agreed that after the dates set out in Section 1 of the Settlement Agreement, it would not ship the products, or substantially similar products, to California for sale unless they are accompanied by a Proposition 65 warning on the product label or the product packaging.

The settlement requires settlement payments of $33,000 divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Michael DiPirro and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.