Moorberg v. Avedis Zildjian Co.

On December 18, 2015, citizen enforcer Mark Moorberg and settling party Avedis Zildjian Co. (“Zildjian”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Moorberg had alleged that Zildjian sold musical instrument bags with vinyl/PVC components 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, Zildjian agreed not to sell any musical instrument bags with vinyl/PVC components in California after May 15, 2016, unless the bags contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $33,300, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Moorberg and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.