Leeman v. Dyno LLC

On November 4, 2015, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Dyno LLC (“Dyno”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Dyno sold sewing kits with vinyl/PVC handles 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, Dyno agreed not to sell any sewing kits with vinyl/PVC handles in California after November 4, 2015, unless the kits contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Dyno has agreed to provide these reformulation requirements to its vendors and instruct them to provide products that comply expeditiously.  Products that do not comply with the above standards shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings.  Should Dyno provide Leeman with written certification by November 16, 2015 that all sewing kits with vinyl/PVC handles 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 $33,000, 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 his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.