Leeman v. E. Mishan & Sons, Inc.

Posted: 09/30/2013  browse the case archive

Citizen enforcer Whitney Leeman, Ph.D., and settling defendant E. Mishan & Sons, Inc. (“Mishan”) entered into a Settlement Agreement on September 30, 2013, which resolved Leeman’s allegations that Mishan sold exercise equipment with vinyl/PVC seats 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, Mishan agreed not to sell any exercise equipment in California after December 15, 2013, unless the equipment contains less than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Equipment sold before then must have Proposition 65 warnings provided pursuant to Section 2.2 of the Settlement Agreement.  Should Mishan provide written certification that it has complied with these heightened standards by February 1, 2014, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $47,000, 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.

Download PDF

It appears your Web browser is not configured to display PDF files. No worries, just click here to download the PDF file.