Vinocur v. Westfield Outdoors, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur’s allegations against defendant Westfield Outdoors, Inc. (“Westfield”) were resolved on September 9, 2015, when the parties entered into a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, Vinocur alleged that Westfield sold tent/shelter fabrics containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Westfield agreed not to sell any tent/shelter fabrics in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the fabric contains no detectable amount of TDCPP, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”), and tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Tent/shelter fabrics that do not meet the reformulation requirements above must be sold with a clear and reasonable warning.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $43,500, 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.