Englander v. Lakim Industries Incorporated

In the enforcement action Englander v. Lakim Industries Incorporated, the parties executed a Consent Judgment on July 23, 2013.  The case resolved citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations that the defendant Lakim Industries Incorporated dba Quali-Tech (“Lakim”) 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, Lakim agreed not to sell any hand tool grips in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Consent Judgment, unless the 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, no more than thirty days after that date, Lakim agreed to provide the reformulation standards to its vendors and instruct them to expeditiously provide grips that comply with the reformulation standards.  Should Lakim provide written certification that all grips are reformulated by December 2, 2013, Englander agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $57,000, 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.