Moore v. Gibson Pro Audio Corp., et al.

The parties involved in the case Moore v. Gibson Pro Audio Corp., et al. executed a Consent Judgment on December 16, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer John Moore alleged that Gibson Pro Audio Corp. and Gibson Brands, Inc. (collectively, “Gibson”) sold headphones made with with vinyl/PVC components 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, Gibson agreed not to sell any headphones made with vinyl/PVC components in California after January 15, 2016, unless the headphones contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Gibson shall also destroy any of its remaining inventory and send a letter to each customer/retailer to which it supplied any of the headphones and instruct them to either destroy the product or return them to Gibson to destroy.

The Consent Judgment required 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 whistleblower Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.