Leeman v. Swany America Corp.

On July 6, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Swany Corp. (“Swany”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Swany sold gloves 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, Swany agreed not to sell any gloves with vinyl/PVC components in California after June 30, 2016, unless the gloves contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Marianna provide Leeman with written certification by August 31, 2016 that all gloves 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 $28,800, 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.