DiPirro v. Universal Abit USA Corp.

On January 30, 2009, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in DiPirro v. Universal Abit USA Corporation, which resolved citizen enforcer Michael DiPirro's allegations that the defendant Universal Abit USA Corp. ("Universal") sold motherboards with solder containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement agreement, Universal agreed not to sell any motherboards in California after December 19, 2008, unless the motherboards are sold or shipped with Proposition 65 warnings, contain no more than .1% of lead by weight in each solder material, or were received in inventory before December 19, 2008. In a good faith effort to inform consumers about the risk of exposure to lead in motherboards sold before December 19, 2008, Universal shall provide a Proposition 65 warning on its website for three years. Due to Universal's prompt cooperation and commitment to reformulation, DiPirro agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $30,000, 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.