Vinocur v. G&T Industries Inc.

Whistleblower Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against defendant G & T Industries Inc. (“G&T”) were resolved on August 4, 2014, when the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that G & T sold foam used as padding in upholstered chairs 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, G&T agreed not to sell any foam in California after August 1, 2014, unless the foam contains no detectable amount of TDCPP or tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  As G&T has already provided written certification that it has met the reformulation standard stipulated in the Agreement, Vinocur has agreed to waive the final civil penalty in its entirety.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $45,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the waived final civil penalty, and compensation to citizen enforcer Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest