Vinocur v. Kikkerland Design, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Kikkerland Design, Inc. (“Kikkerland”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement on August 25, 2015.  Vinocur had alleged that Kikkerland sold earbud cords 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, Kikkerland agreed not to sell any earbud cords in California after December 1, 2015, unless the cords contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”), butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”), and diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Kikkerland provide Vinocur with written certification by July 1, 2015 that all earbud cords 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 $35,000, 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.