Englander v. Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company

Whistleblower Peter Englander and settling party Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company (“Faultless”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on August 6, 2013, which resolved Englander’s allegations that Faultless sold hand tool grips 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, Faultless agreed not to sell any hand tool grips in California after August 8, 2013, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Faultless provide written certification by September 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, that all hand tool grips sold in California qualify as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,000, 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.