Moore v. Vic Firth Company

On December 14, 2015, citizen enforcer John Moore and settling party Vic Firth Company (“Vic Firth”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Moore had alleged that Vic Firth sold headphones with vinyl/PVC ear cushions 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, Vic Firth agreed not to sell any headphones with vinyl/PVC ear cushions in California after May 15, 2016, unless the headphones contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Vic Firth accelerate reformulation and provide Moore with written certification by April 15, 2016 that all headphones with vinyl/PVC ear cushions 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 $35,500, 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.