Leeman v. Oakley, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Oakley, Inc. (“Oakley”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement on March 23, 2016.  Leeman had alleged that Oakley sold backpacks with vinyl/PVC components 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, Oakley agreed not to sell any backpacks with vinyl/PVC components in California after March 25, 2016, unless the backpacks contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Oakley provide Leeman with written certification by June 15, 2016 that all backpacks with vinyl/PVC components sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $41,000, 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.