Vinocur v. CRI 2000, L.P.

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against defendant CRI 2000, L.P. (“CRI”) were resolved on June 5, 2015, when the parties entered into an out-of-court settlement.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that CRI sold tent fabrics containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, CRI agreed not to sell any furniture in California after May 15, 2014, unless the furniture contains no more than 25 parts per million each of TDCPP, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”), and/or tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or are accompanied by a Proposition 65 warning pursuant to section 2.2 of the agreement. Should CRI provide written certification that all furniture sold in California after January 4, 2016 qualifies as reformulated, Vinocur agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $65,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.