Moore v. Big Lots Stores, Inc.

Citizen enforcer John Moore and settling defendant Big Lots Stores, Inc. (“Big Lots”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on December 19, 2013, which resolved Moore’s allegations that Big Lots sold mugs with exterior designs containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Big Lots agreed not to sell the specific mug identified in the Consent Judgment in California after January 15, 2014, unless the mug contains no more than 90 parts per million (0.1%) of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Because Big Lots responded promptly to Moore’s allegations and isolated all unsold inventory and will destroy it in accordance with all applicable laws, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $57,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the waived civil penalty, and compensation to whistleblower Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.