Englander v. Dexter-Russell, Inc.

Posted: 09/25/2012  browse the case archive

On September 25, 2012, citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling defendant Dexter-Russell, Inc. ("Dexter-Russell") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Englander's allegations that Dexter-Russell sold cutlery cases exposing people to 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, Dexter-Russell agreed not to sell any cutlery cases in California after September 28, 2012, unless the cutlery cases contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP"), di-n-hexyl phthalate ("DnHP"), di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP"), and di-isodecyl phthalate ("DIDP") in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Dexter-Russell also agreed to place Proposition 65 warnings on the cutlery cases it did not reformulate. Should Dexter-Russell eliminate the need for Proposition 65 warnings on the cutlery cases by September 28, 2013, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $24,000, 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.

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