Moore v. Merkury Innovations LLC, et al.

On August 8, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Merkury Innovations LLC, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore's allegations that the defendant Merkury Innovations LLC ("Merkury"), sold cases for digital cameras 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, Merkury agreed not to sell any cases for digital cameras in California after September 7, 2012, unless the cases contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Merkury agreed to provide its then-current vendors with the agreed upon reformulation standard by September 7, 2012, and instruct them to provide cases that comply expeditiously. Due to Merkury's immediate commitment to comply with 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 $51,000, 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.