Vinocur v. Master Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against settling party Master Manufacturing Co., Inc. (“Master Manufacturing”) were resolved on June 10, 2013, when the parties entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that Master Manufacturing sold vinyl shoulder cushions containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Vinocur agreed not to sell any vinyl shoulder cushions in California after May 31, 2013, unless the cushions contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Should Master Manufacturing provide written certification that all cushions sold in California after April 15, 2014 qualify as reformulated,  Vinocur agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $36,000, 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.