Leeman v. Kingsbridge International

On November 13, 2014, the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D., made against settling party Kingsbridge International (“Kingsbridge”).  In this matter, Leeman alleged that Kingsbridge sold vinyl/PVC tape 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, Kingsbridge agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC tape in California after November 30, 2014, unless the vinyl/PVC tape contains no more than 0.1 percent of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $36,500, 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.