Vinocur v. Things Remembered, Inc.

On April 23, 2014, the parties involved in the enforcement action Vinocur v. Things Remembered, Inc., executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that the defendant Things Remembered, Inc. (“Things Remembered”) sold vinyl/PVC sports-themed clocks 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, Things Remembered agreed not to sell any of the specific sports-themed clocks identified in the Consent Judgment in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Consent Judgment, unless the clocks contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible part when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Things Remembered provide written certification that all clocks sold in California after April 23, 2014, and continuing into the future, qualify as reformulated, Vinocur agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $61,000, 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.