Englander v. The TJX Companies, Inc.

In the enforcement action Englander v. Ashley Furniture Industries, citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations against defendant The TJX Companies, Inc. (“TJX”) were resolved on March 6, 2014, when the parties executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, Englander alleged that TJX sold padded upholstered ottomans with foam padding containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, TJX agreed not to sell any ottomans in California after April 1, 2014, unless the ottomans contain no detectable amount of TDCPP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Ottomans currently existing in TJX’s inventory must be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should TJX provide written certification that all ottomans sold in California after February 1, 2014 qualify as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine.  Additionally, Englander provided a credit for extending the breadth of reformulation, among other credits available, if TJX should provide written certification that all furniture sold in California after June 1, 2014, contains no detectable amounts of tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) or tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”) in addition to satisfying the TDCPP requirement.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $45,000, 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.