Wozniak v. Duck House, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Wozniak v. Duck House, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on April 14, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak alleged that Duck House, Inc. (“Duck House”) sold vinyl/PVC coasters 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, Duck House agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC coasters in California after the Santa Clara Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the coasters contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided pursuant to section 2.2 of the agreement.  Should Duck House provide written certification that all vinyl/PVC coasters sold in California qualify as reformulated by fifteen days after the Judgment is approved, Wozniak agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $45,000, 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.