Leeman v. Mayhew Steel Products, Inc.

On December 11, 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 Mayhew Steel Products, Inc. (“Mayhew”).  In this matter, Leeman alleged that Mayhew sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Mayhew agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after February 1, 2015, unless the tool grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DBP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, or the tools are accompanied by a Proposition 65 warning.  Tools with vinyl/PVC grips currently existing in inventory must be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Mayhew provide written certification by March 1, 2015, that all tools with vinyl/PVC grips qualify as reformulated, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $39,000, 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.