Leeman v. CTT Tools, Inc.

On July 7, 2015, Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D and settling party CTT Tools, Inc. (“CTT”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that CTT 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, CTT agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after July 7, 2015, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”), or diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Tools that do not meet the reformulation requirement shall bear a Proposition 65 warning pursuant to section 2.1 of the agreement.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $34,500, 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.