Leeman v. Kim-Seng Company

On July 17, 2017, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Kim-Seng Company (“Kim-Seng”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Kim-Seng sold dried teas containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Kim-Seng agreed not to sell any dried teas in California after July 17, 2017, unless the tea is virtually free of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $7,000, 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.