Englander v. Filo America

In the enforcement action Englander v. Filo America, the parties executed a Consent Judgment on July 31, 2013.  The case resolved citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations that the defendant Filo America sold adhesive bandages 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, Filo America agreed not to sell any adhesive bandages in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Consent Judgment, unless the bandages contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Filo America provide written certification that all bandages are reformulated by the Effective Date, Englander agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $74,000, 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.