Leeman v. The Dollfus Mieg Company, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Leeman v. The Dollfus Mieg Company, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on March 16, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D alleged that The Dollfus Mieg Company, Inc. (“Dollfus”) sold vinyl/PVC bracelets, Stitch Bow rolls with vinyl/PVC components, vinyl/PVC binder inserts, and embroidery and needlework storage items 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, Dollfus agreed not to sell any of the aforementioned products in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the products 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.  Should Dollfus provide written certification that all of the above products sold in California qualify as reformulated by December 15, 2015, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $54,000, 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.