Wozniak v. CHF Industries, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak and settling party CHF Industries, Inc. (“CHF”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on May 8, 2014, which resolved Wozniak’s allegations that CHF sold vinyl/PVC pillows 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, CHF agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC pillows in California after June 1, 2014, unless the pillows meet the reformulation requirements outlined in Section 2.1 of the Consent Judgment.  Should CHF provide written certification by May 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, that all pillows sold in California qualify as reformulated, Wozniak agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $28,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Wozniak and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.