Englander v. Hillsdale Furniture LLC

Whistleblower Peter Englander resolved his allegations against the defendant Hillsdale Furniture LLC (“Hillsdale”) in the case Englander v. Hillsdale Furniture LLC when the parties executed a Consent Judgment on January 3, 2014.  In this enforcement action, Englander alleged that Hillsdale sold stools with vinyl/PVC upholstery and furniture 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, Hillsdale agreed not to sell any stools with vinyl/PVC upholstery or furniture in California after the San Francisco County Court approves the Consent Judgment, unless the furniture contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), or butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or has Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Hillsdale provide written certification by June 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, that all furniture qualifies as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires a total settlement payment of $59,000, 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.