Englander v. Acme Furniture Industry, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations against defendant Acme Furniture Industry, Inc. (“Settling Defendant”) were resolved on July 7, 2015, when the parties entered into a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, Englander alleged that Settling Defendant sold products with foam-cushioned components containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) and 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, Settling Defendant agreed not to sell any products with foam-cushioned components in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the products contain no detectable amount of TDCPP and DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Additionally, Settling Defendant agreed to provide its vendors with the reformulation standards and instruct them to provide furniture that complies expeditiously.  Products with foam-cushioned components currently existing in Settling Defendant’s inventory must be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Settling Defendant provide written certification that all its products with foam-cushioned components sold in California qualifies as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine.  Additionally, Englander provided a credit for extending the breadth of reformulation, among other credits available, if Settling Defendant should provide written certification that all products with foam-cushioned components sold in California contain no detectable amounts of tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) and trichloroethyl phosphate (“TCEP”) in addition to satisfying the TDCPP and DEHP requirements.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $80,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.