Englander v. Superior Tool Corporation

Whistleblower Peter Englander and settling party Superior Tool Corporation (“Superior Tool”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on April 17, 2013, which resolved Englander’s allegations that Superior Tool sold hand tools with 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, Superior Tool agreed not to manufacture or purchase any hand tools with grips for sale in California after April 15, 2013, unless the hand tools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Superior Tool provide written certification that by January 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, all hand tools sold in California by Superior Tool qualify as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $39,500, 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.