Vinocur v. Merrick Engineering, Inc.

On April 30, 2019, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Merrick Engineering, Inc. (“Merrick”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Merrick sold hangers with vinyl components 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, Merrick agreed not to sell any hangers with vinyl components in California after April 29, 2019, unless the products contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $19,000, 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.