Englander v. LDR Industries, LLC

In the enforcement action Englander v. LDR Industries, LLC, et al., the parties executed a Consent Judgment on November 13, 2013.  The case resolved citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations that the defendant LDR Industries, LLC (“LDR”) sold hose bibbs with vinyl/grips containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”) and the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, LDR agreed not to sell any hose bibbs with grips in California after December 31, 2013, unless the bibbs contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and DBP and 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should LDR provide written certification that all hose bibbs sold in California qualify as reformulated by September 1, 2014, Englander agreed to waive 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 whistleblower Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.