Moorberg v. Apex Tool Group, LLC

The parties involved in the case Moorberg v. Apex Tool Group, LLC executed a Consent Judgment on November 12, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Mark Moorberg alleged that Apex Tool Group, LLC (“Apex”) sold vinyl/PVC coated cables and vinyl/PVC tool pouches 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, Apex agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC coated cables or vinyl/PVC tool pouches in California after the Santa Clara County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the cables and pouches contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $35,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Moorberg and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.