Moore v. Preger & Wertenteil, Inc.

The Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Moore v. Preger & Wertenteil, Inc., on February 15, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer John Moore’s allegations that the defendant Preger & Wertenteil, Inc. (“P&W”) sold footwear 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, P&W agreed not to sell any footwear in California after February 17, 2013, unless the footwear contains less than 1,000 parts per million of DBP and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should P&W provide written certification that all of its footwear sold in California after June 21, 2013, qualifies as reformulated, Moore agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $87,000, 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.