Englander v. Big Lots, Inc., et al

Citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations against defendants Big Lots, Inc. and Big Lots Stores, Inc. (collectively, “Big Lots”) were resolved on June 30, 2015, when the parties entered into a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, Englander alleged that Big Lots sold padded upholstered stools containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) and stools with vinyl/PVC upholstery 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, Big Lots agreed not to sell any stools in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the stools contain no detectable amount of TDCPP and less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Additionally, Big Lots agreed to provide its vendors with the reformulation standards by June 1, 2015, and instruct them to provide furniture that complies expeditiously.  Furniture currently existing in Big Lots’s inventory must be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $32,000, 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.