Englander v. Supervalu Inc.

Whistleblower Peter Englander and settling party Supervalu Inc. (“Supervalu”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on October 14, 2013, which resolved Englander’s allegations that Supervalu sold vinyl/PVC hand tool grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Supervalu agreed not to sell any hand tool grips in California after November 15, 2013, unless the tools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and less than 100 parts per million of lead content in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Should Supervalu provide written certification that by October 18, 2013, and continuing into the future, all hand tools sold in California 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 $32,500, 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.