Vinocur v. National Public Seating Co., et al.

The parties involved in the case Vinocur v. National Public Seating Co., et al. executed a Consent Judgment on April 30, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that National Public Seating Co. and Oklahoma Sound (collectively, “NPS”) sold upholstered chairs with foam padding containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloropropyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, NPS agreed not to sell any upholstered chairs with foam padding in California after June 15, 2015, unless the chairs contain no detectable amount of TDCPP or tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  NPS has also agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standard and instruct them to provide products that comply expeditiously.  All current inventory shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should NPS accelerate the reformulation of its products extend the reformulation to include tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate (“TDBPP”), and/or withdraw unreformulated products from the California market, Vinocur has agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $92,000, 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.