Moore v. Midwest Quality Gloves, Inc.

In the enforcement action Moore v. Midwest Quality Gloves, Inc., the parties executed a Consent Judgment on April 9, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore’s allegations that the defendant Midwest Quality Gloves, Inc. (“Midwest”) sold vinyl/PVC rainwear 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, Midwest agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC rainwear in California after April 15, 2013, unless the rainwear contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies or has Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Additionally, by May 15, 2013, Midwest agreed to notify its vendors of the new reformulation standards and instruct them to provide rainwear that complies expeditiously.  Should Midwest provide written certification that it has eliminated the need for Proposition 65 warnings by December 1, 2013, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $46,000, 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.