Moore v. Pioneer Photo Albums, Inc.

On June 13, 2011, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Pioneer Photo Albums, Inc., which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore's allegations that the defendant Pioneer Photo Albums, Inc. ("Pioneer") sold books with soft covers 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, Pioneer agreed not to sell any books in California after April 1, 2011, unless the books contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Pioneer's cooperation during the settlement process and commitment to comply by these heightened standards, Moore agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $40,000, 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.