Vinocur v. Wilde Tool Co., Inc.

On May 2, 2019, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Wilde Tool Co., Inc. (“Wilde Tool”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Wilde Tool sold vinyl tool pouches 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, Wilde Tool agreed not to sell any vinyl tool pouches in California after May 2, 2019, unless the products contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided. Should Wilde Tool certify to Vinocur by September 1, 2019 that all vinyl tool pouches manufactured, imported, or purchased for resale to customers in California quality as reformulated, Vinocur has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty.

 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of up to $23,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.