Englander v. Accell North America, Inc.

On March 9, 2016, citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party Accell North America, Inc. (“ANA”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Englander had alleged that ANA sold locks with vinyl/PVC coating containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, ANA agreed not to sell any locks with vinyl/PVC coating in California after March 11, 2016, unless the locks contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $40,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.