Englander v. Jokari/US, Inc.

On April 18, 2016, citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party Jokari/US, Inc. (“Jokari”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Englander had alleged that Jokari sold vinyl/PVC can openers 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, Jokari agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC can openers in California after April 18, 2016, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Jokari has also agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards and instruct them to comply expeditiously.  Should Jokari provide Englander with written certification by June 15, 2016 that all vinyl/PVC can openers sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $39,000, 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.