Moore v. DAS Companies, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Moore v. DAS Companies, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on August 11, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer John Moore alleged that DAS Companies, Inc. (“DAS”) sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips 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, DAS agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after December 1, 2015, unless the tools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or meet one of the exceptions as set down in section 2.2.  All tools with vinyl/PVC grips that do not meet the reformulation requirements or one of the exceptions shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should DAS provide written certification that all tools with vinyl/PVC grips sold in California qualify as reformulated by October 15, 2015, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $55,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.