Leeman v. Dreamgear, LLC

On March 2, 2016, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D and settling party Dreamgear, LLC (“Dreamgear”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Dreamgear sold armbands with vinyl/PVC straps 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, Dreamgear agreed not to sell any armbands with vinyl/PVC straps in California after March 4, 2016, unless the armbands contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Dreamgear provide Leeman with written certification by June 15, 2016 that all armbands with vinyl/PVC straps 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 $37,000, 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.