Moorberg v. ColArt Americas Inc.

On January 13, 2016, the parties involved in the case Moorberg v. ColArt Americas, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Mark Moorberg alleged that ColArt Americas Inc. (“ColArt”) sold vinyl/PVC art cases 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, ColArt agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC art cases in California after the Santa Clara County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the cases contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment required 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 whistleblower Moorberg and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.