Vinocur v. Homecare Products, Inc.

On January 30, 2018, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Homecare Prodcuts, Inc. (“Homecare”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Homecare sold bathing products containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Homecare agreed not to sell any bathing products in California after February 12, 2018, unless the products contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and/or DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $21,000, 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.