Moorberg v. Spectrum Diversified Designs, Inc.

On August 22, 2014, the parties involved in the enforcement action Moorberg v. Spectrum Diversified Designs, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Mark Moorberg alleged that the defendant Spectrum Diversified Designs, Inc. (“Spectrum”) sold vinyl/PVC coasters 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, Spectrum agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC coasters in California after September 15, 2014, unless the coasters contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Spectrum provide written certification by January 15, 2015, that all coasters sold in California qualify as reformulated, Moorberg agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $62,000, 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.