Vinocur v. Groupe SEB USA
On December 28, 2016, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Groupe SEB (“Groupe SEB”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Groupe SEB sold vinyl/PVC tool grips 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, Groupe SEB agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC tool grips in California after December 31, 2016, unless the grips contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.
The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,000, 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.