Englander v. FPC Corporation

Whistleblower Peter Englander resolved his allegations against the defendant FPC Corporation (“FPC”) in the enforcement action Englander v. FPC Corporation, when the parties executed a Consent Judgment on March 25, 2013.  Englander alleged that FPC sold hand tools 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, FPC agreed not to sell any hand tools in California after March 1, 2013, unless the hand tools have Proposition 65 warnings provided or comply with the reformulation standards when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.   Additionally, FPC agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards by February 15, 2013, and instruct them to provide tools that comply expeditiously.   Should FPC ensure that all newly obtained hand tools are certified by the vendor as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.    

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $45,000, 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.