Vinocur v. Southern Exchange, L.P.

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against settling party Southern Exchange, L.P. (“Southern Exchange”) were resolved on August 27, 2013, when the parties entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that Southern Exchange sold vinyl/PVC rainwear containing di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Southern Exchange agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC rainwear in California after August 30, 2013, unless the rainwear contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or has Proposition 65 warnings provided. Additionally, Southern Exchange agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards by October 14, 2013, and to instruct them to provide rainwear that complies with these standards.  In lieu of additional civil penalties, Southern Exchange agreed to make a cy pres payment to the Silent Spring Institute to continue its work identifying the links between exposure to environmental chemicals (including DEHP) and reproductive and developmental harm.  Should Southern Exchange provide written certification that all rainwear sold in California after January 6, 2014 qualifies as reformulated, Vinocur agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $65,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the cy pres payment, and compensation to whistleblower Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.