Englander v. Jonard Industries Corporation

On February 14, 2013, the parties executed a Consent Judgment in Englander v. Jonard Industries Corporation, which resolved citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations that the defendant Jonard Industries Corporation (“Jonard”) sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Jonard agreed not to sell any hand tool grips in California after March 1, 2013, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP or 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Jonard agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards and instruct them to provide hand tool grips that complied expeditiously.  Should Jonard comply with these heightened standards by March 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $58,000, 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.