Leeman v. Vanco International, LLC

On May 23, 2016, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party Vanco International, LLC (“Vanco”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Vanco sold vinyl/PVC power cords 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, Vanco agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC power cords in California after May 23, 2016, unless the cords contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Existing inventory shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $25,000, 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.