Vinocur v. Boss Pet Products, Inc.

On April 21, 2017, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Boss Pet Products, Inc. (“Boss”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Vinocur had alleged that Boss sold pet waste disposal products 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, Boss agreed not to sell any pet waste disposal products in California after April 28, 2017, unless the products 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.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $23,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.