DiPirro v. Virbac Corporation; Petsmart, Inc., et. al

Citizen enforcer Michael DiPirro and settling defendants Virbac Corporation ("Virbac") and Petsmart, Inc. ("Petsmart") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on December 4, 2001, which resolved DiPirro's allegations that Virbac manufactured and distributed and Petsmart sold tick collars containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Virbac, on behalf of itself and Petsmart, agreed not to sell any tick collars in California after February 15, 2002, unless the tick collars have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $73,000, 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.