Moore v. Q.E.P., Inc.

On December 21, 2018, citizen enforcer John Moore and settling party Q.E.P. Co., Inc. (“QEP”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Moore had alleged that QEP sold knee pads with vinyl/PVC 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, QEP agreed not to sell any knee pads with vinyl/PVC components in California after December 21, 2018, unless the knee pads contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP"), di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP"), di-isodecyl phthalate ("DiDP"), diisononyl phthalate ("DINP"), and di-n-hexyl phthalate ("DnHP") when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Should QEP provide Moore with certification by May 15, 2019 that all its knee pads with vinyl/PVC components sold in California are reformulated according to the above standards, then Moore has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of up to $34,000, 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.