Englander v. American Art Clay Company, Inc.

On July 21, 2016, citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party American Art Clay Company, Inc. (“AMACO”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Englander had alleged that AMACO sold hand tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, AMACO agreed not to sell any hand tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after August 1, 2016, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and/or DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $20,500, 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.