Englander v. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd.

The parties involved in the case Englander v. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. executed a Consent Judgment on March 27, 2018.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Peter Englander alleged that G-III Apparel Enterprises, Ltd. (“G-III Apparel”) sold vinyl/PVC ponchos 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 agreement, G-III Apparel agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC ponchos in California after the Santa Clara County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the ponchos contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $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.