Englander v. Zagg Inc.

On October 12, 2016, citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party Zagg Inc. (“Zagg”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Englander had alleged that Zagg sold vinyl/PVC zipper pulls 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, Zagg agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC zipper pulls in California after September 15, 2016, unless the pulls contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Zagg provide Englander with written certification by October 15, 2016 that all vinyl/PVC zipper pulls sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of up to $38,700, 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.