Moorberg v. The Lincoln Electric Company, et al.

Posted: 07/09/2015  browse the case archive

The parties involved in the case Moorberg v. The Lincoln Electric Company, et al. executed a Consent Judgment on July 9, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Mark Moorberg alleged that The Lincoln Electric Company (“Lincoln”) and J.W. Harris Company, Inc. (“JW”) (collectively, “Settling Defendants”) sold pliers with vinyl/PVC grips and individually packaged goggles with vinyl/PVC components containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and lens pouches containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Settling Defendants agreed not to sell any of the above products in California after the Effective Dates named in section 1.10 of the Judgment, unless the products contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (“ppm”) of DEHP or 100 ppm of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Products that do not meet the above reformulation standards shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings pursuant to section 2.2 of the Judgment.  Should Settling Defendants provide written certification that all pliers with vinyl/PVC grips, individually packaged goggles with vinyl/PVC components, and lens pouches sold in California qualify as reformulated by January 15, 2016, Moorberg agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $65,500, 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.   

Download PDF

It appears your Web browser is not configured to display PDF files. No worries, just click here to download the PDF file.