Englander v. Weems Industries, Inc. d/b/a Legacy Company

In the enforcement action Englander v. Weems Industries, Inc., the parties executed a Consent Judgment on February 12, 2013.  The case resolved citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations that the defendant Weems Industries, Inc. d/ba/ Legacy Company (“Legacy”) sold grease guns with hand grips containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Legacy agreed not to sell any grease guns in California after July 1, 2013, unless the guns contain no more than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Legacy provide written certification that all grease guns are reformulated by May 1, 2013, Englander agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires 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.