Moore v. Halstead New England Corporation and Metroflor Corporation

Whistleblower John Moore resolved his allegations against the defendants Halstead New England Corporation (“Halstead”) and Metroflor Corp. (“Metroflor”) in the enforcement action Moore v. Halstead New England Corporation, et al., when the parties executed a Consent Judgment on October 11, 2013.  In this matter, Moore alleged that Halstead and Metroflor sold vinyl flooring that contains 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, Halstead and Metroflor agreed not to sell any vinyl flooring in California after October 31, 2013, unless the flooring complies with the reformulation standards identified in Section 2.1 of the Consent Judgment or has Proposition 65 warnings provided.   Should Halstead and Metroflor provide written certification that by December 5, 2014, 75 percent of the vinyl flooring in California qualifies as reformulated and/or that by December 18, 2015, 90 percent of the vinyl flooring sold in California qualifies as reformulated, Moore agreed to waive portions of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires a total settlement payment of $820,000, 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.