Englander v. Lifetime Brands, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Englander v. Lifetime Brands, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on December 17, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Peter Englander alleged that Lifetime Brands, Inc. (“Lifetime”) sold products with vinyl/PVC components 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 agreement, Lifetime agreed not to sell any products with vinyl/PVC components in California after the Santa Clara County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the products contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), diisodecyl phthalate (“DIDP”), and diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Englander has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty should Lifetime provide Englander with certification by June 30, 2016 that it has extended reformulation to include butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”).

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $44,000, 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.