Vinocur v. Fashion Accessory Bazaar LLC

The parties involved in the case Vinocur v. Fashion Accessory Bazaar LLC executed a Consent Judgment on March 7, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that Fashion Accessory Bazaar LLC (“FAB”) sold badge holders 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 agreement, FAB agreed not to sell any badge holders in California after April 1, 2016, unless the headsets contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should FAB provide Vinocur with certification by September 15, 2016 that all bad holders sold in California qualify as reformulated, Vinocur has agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $47,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.