Leeman v. Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC

The parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on March 25, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D.’s allegations that the settling party Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC (“Kimpton”) sold flame-cooked ground beef containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Kimpton agreed not to sell any flame-cooked ground beef in California after April 24, 2013, unless the restaurants where the ground beef is sold have Proposition 65 warnings provided as outlined in Section 2.1.  Additionally, Kimpton agreed to conduct compliance reviews at least once a year for three years, beginning on April 24, 2013.  

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $28,300, 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.