Leeman v. T. Christy Enterprises

On May 14, 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 T. Christy Enterprises (“T. Christy”).  In this matter, Leeman alleged that T. Christy sold vinyl/PVC knife grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, T. Christy agreed not to sell any knife grips in California after July 1, 2014, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and less than 100 parts per million of lead content in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should T. Christy provide written certification that all products qualify as reformulated by September 1, 2014, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $35,500, 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.