Vinocur v. Wholesale Interiors, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Vinocur v. Wholesale Interiors Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on January 16, 2019.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that Wholesale Interiors Inc. (“Wholesale”) sold ottomans with vinyl/PVC upholstery 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 agreement, Wholesale agreed not to sell any ottomans with vinyl/PVC upholstery in California after the Marin County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the ottomans contain less than 1,000 parts of million of DEHP, butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP"), di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP"), diisodecyl phthalate ("DIDP"), diisononyl phthalate ("DINP"), and/or di-n-hexyl phthalate ("DnHP") when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided. 

 

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $37,500, 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.