Leeman, et al. v. Grocery Outlet, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Leeman, et al. v. Grocery Outlet, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on June 1, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcers Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and Peter Englander (“Plaintiffs”) alleged that Grocery Outlet, Inc. (“Grocery Outlet”) sold headphones with vinyl/PVC components 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 agreement, Grocery Outlet agreed not to sell any headphones with vinyl/PVC components in California after the Alameda County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the headphones contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $46,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.