Vinocur v. Laura Geller Beauty, LLC

The parties involved in the case Vinocur v. Laura Geller Beauty, LLC executed a Consent Judgment on July 11, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that Laura Geller Beauty, LLC (“Laura Geller”) sold vinyl/PVC cosmetic bag hand straps 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 agreement, Laura Geller agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC cosmetic bag hand straps in California after the Marin County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the straps contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Existing inventory shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Laura Geller provide Vinocur with certification by January 30, 2016 that all vinyl/PVC cosmetic bag hand straps sold in California qualify as reformulated, Vinocur has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $50,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.