Leeman v. Catalyst Marketing, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Catalyst Marketing, Inc. (“Catalyst”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement on August 19, 2015.  Leeman had alleged that Catalyst sold vinyl/PVC journal covers 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, Catalyst agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC journal covers in California after October 1, 2015, unless the covers contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $32,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.