Moore v. Ideal Industries, Inc.

Citizen enforcer John Moore and defendant Ideal Industries, Inc. (“Ideal Industries”) executed a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Ideal Industries, Inc. on December 31, 2012.  In this enforcement action, Moore alleged that Ideal Industries sold hand tools with 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, Ideal Industries agreed not to sell any hand tools with grips in California after December 31, 2012, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or Proposition 65 warnings are provided.  After an interim period of six months, all hand tools must comply with reformulation standards.  By December 31, 2013, Ideal Industries agreed to destroy all unreformulated hand tools remaining in inventory.  Additionally, Ideal Industries agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards by January 10, 2013, and instruct them to provide hand tools that comply. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $50,000, 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.