Leeman v. Champion Power Equipment, Inc.

On July 28, Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D and settling party Champion Power Equipment, Inc. (“Champion”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Champion sold vinyl/PVC automotive booster cables and generator 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, Champion agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC automotive booster cables in California after January 1, 2016, unless the cables contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, while generator covers shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Existing inventory shall also be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $27,500, 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.