Leeman v. Coda Resources Ltd.

On June 29, 2015, Dr. Whitney R. Leeman and settling party Coda Resources Ltd. (“Coda”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Coda sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips 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, Coda agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after December 1, 2015, unless the boat hooks contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Tools that do not meet this reformulation standard as well as existing inventory must bear a Proposition 65 warning pursuant to section 2.2 of the agreement.  Should Coda accelerate its reformulation and provide Leeman with written certification by October 15, 2015 that all tools with vinyl/PVC grips sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $48,000, 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.