Englander v. Iron Bridge Tools, Inc.

Posted: 12/23/2013  browse the case archive

Whistleblower Peter Englander’s allegations against the defendant Iron Bridge Tools, Inc. (“Iron Bridge”) were resolved in the enforcement action Englander v. Iron Bridge Tools, Inc.  The parties executed a Consent Judgment on December 23, 2013, which resolved Englander’s assertions that Iron Bridge 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, Iron Bridge agreed not to sell any hand tool grips identified in the Consent Judgment in California after April 30, 2014, unless the hand 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.  Additionally, Iron Bridge agreed to provide its hand tool vendors with the reformulation standards by January 30, 2014, and instruct them to provide hand tool grips that comply with these standards expeditiously.  Should Iron Bridge provide written certification that all hand tool grips are reformulated by July 15, 2014, Englander agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $85,000, 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.

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