Vinocur v. Inter American Cosmetics

On November 6, 2015, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Inter American Cosmetics (“IAC”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Vinocur had alleged that IAC sold vinyl/PVC toiletry bags 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, IAC agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC toiletry bags in California after March 30, 2016, unless the bags contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should IAC accelerate reformulation and provide Vinocur with written certification by December 1, 2015 that all vinyl/PVC toiletry bags sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Vinocur agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $57,000, 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.