Leeman v. Wild Eye Designs, Inc.

On March 4, 2016, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D and settling party Wild Eye Designs, Inc. (“Wild”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Leeman had alleged that Wild sold glass oil and vinegar bottles containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Wild agreed not to sell any glass oil and vinegar bottles in California after March 15, 2016, unless the exterior decorations contain less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Wild provide Leeman with written certification by January 15, 2017 that all glass oil and vinegar bottles 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 $29,000, 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.