Moore v. West Chester Holdings, Inc.

Citizen enforcer John Moore and settling defendant West Chester Holdings, Inc. (“West Chester”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on August 15, 2013, which resolved Moore’s allegations that West Chester sold vinyl/PVC rainwear containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and/or lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, West Chester agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC rainwear in California after August 15, 2013, unless the rainwear contains no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP and 90 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or has Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should West Chester eliminate the need for Proposition 65 warnings by October 15, 2013, Moore agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $22,000, 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.