Moore v. Itoya of America, Ltd.

On September 6, 2011, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Itoya of America, Ltd., which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore's allegations that the defendant Itoya of America, Ltd. ("Itoya") sold coverings for books 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, Itoya agreed not to sell any coverings for books in California after December 31, 2011, unless the book coverings contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Itoya's commitment to comply by these heightened standards, Moore agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $44,000, 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.