Moore v. Jem Accessories Inc.

On November 24, 2015, citizen enforcer John Moore and settling party Jem Accessories Inc. (“Jem”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Held had alleged that Jem sold vinyl/PVC headphone cords 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, Jem agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC headphone cords in California after November 1, 2015, unless the cords contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $23,800, 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.