Moore v. Northwest River Supplies, Inc.

On December 22, 2016, citizen enforcer John Moore and settling party Northwest River Supplies, Inc. (“NRS”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Moore had alleged that NRS sold vinyl/PVC dry bags 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, NRS agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC dry bags in California after December 22, 2016, unless the bags contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should NRS provide Moore with written certification by July 15, 2018 that all vinyl/PVC dry bags sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of up to $35,000, 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.