Moore v. The Import Collection

Citizen enforcer John Moore and settling defendant The Import Collection (“Import Collection”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on October 23, 2013, which resolved Moore’s allegations that Import Collection sold stools with vinyl/PVC seats 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, Import Collection agreed not to sell the specific stool identified in the Consent Judgment in California after October 22, 2013, unless the stool contains less than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Import Collection provide written certification that it has met the reformulation requirements by December 1, 2013, or that it has ceased selling any unreformulated versions of the stool by that date, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $16,000, 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.