Moore v. Fagor America, Inc.

On October 22, 2015, citizen enforcer John Moore and settling party Fagor America, Inc. ( “Fagor”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Moore had alleged that Fagor sold canning 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 settlement, Fagor agreed not to sell any canning tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after January 1, 2016, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Fagor accelerate reformulation and provide Moore with written certification by December 1, 2015 that all canning tools with vinyl/PVC grips sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $34,250, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.