Leeman v. Uniters North America, LLC

The parties involved in the case Leeman v. Uniters North America, LLC executed a Consent Judgment on March 24, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D., alleged that Uniters North America, LLC (“Uniters”) sold vinyl/PVC bags 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 agreement, Uniters agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC bags in California after the Marin County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the bags contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $47,600, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.