Wozniak v. Bessey Tools Inc.

Posted: 09/02/2015  browse the case archive

On September 2, 2015, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak and settling party Bessey Tools, Inc, (“Bessey”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Wozniak had alleged that Bessey sold vinyl/PVC clamp grips 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, Bessey agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC clamp grips in California after September 2, 2015, unless the grips contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Grips that do not meet the above requirements shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Bessey provide Wozniak with written certification by September 21, 2015 that all vinyl/PVC clamp grips sold in California qualify as reformulated products under the agreement, Wozniak agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $42,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Wozniak and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.  

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