Moorberg v. North States Industries, Inc.

On December 1, 2014, the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Mark Mooberg made against settling party North States Industries, Inc. (“North States”).  In this matter, Moorberg alleged that North States sold vinyl/PVC wire mesh gates 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, North States agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC wire mesh gates in California after December 1, 2014, unless the gates contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), and butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should North States provide written certification by December 8, 2014, that all vinyl/PVC wire mesh gates qualify as reformulated, Moorberg agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $46,000, 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.