Leeman v. Upton Tea Imports, LLC

The parties involved in the case Leeman v. Upton Tea Imports, LLC executed a Consent Judgment on May 22, 2017.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. alleged that Upton Tea Imports, LLC (“Upton”) sold dried teas containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Upton agreed not to sell any dried teas in California after the San Francisco County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the tea is virtually free of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have a Proposition 65 warning provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $18,500, 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.