Leeman v. Z Gallerie, et al.

The Superior Court of California for the City and County of San Francisco entered a Consent Judgment on April 28, 2005 in Leeman v. Z Gallerie, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Dr. Whitney R. Leeman's allegations that the defendant Z Gallerie sold mugs and other tableware with colored artwork or designs (containing lead) on the exterior in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Z Gallerie agreed not to sell any mugs and other tableware with colored artwork or designs on the exterior in California after December 1, 2004, unless such products have Proposition 65 warnings provided or contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $94,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which were 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.