Moore v. OfficeMax Incorporated

Posted: 01/27/2011  browse the case archive

On January 27, 2011, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Moore v. OfficeMax Incorporated, which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore's allegations that the defendant OfficeMax Incorporated ("OfficeMax") sold jumbo paperclips with vinyl components 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, OfficeMax agreed not to sell any paperclips in California after November 8, 2010, unless the paperclips contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. By November 28, 2010, OfficeMax notified all of its retailers to destroy the specific paperclips identified in the Consent Judgment that remained in inventory. Should OfficeMax broaden the stipulations of the Consent Judgment to encompass the United States by December 7, 2010, Moore agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $51,500, to be 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.

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