Wozniak v. Harold Import Co., Inc.

The parties involved in the case Wozniak v. Harold Import Co., Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on April 11, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak alleged that Harold Import Co., Inc. (“Harold”) sold nylon cooking utensils containing the chemical 4,4’-methylenedianiline (“4,4’-MDA”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Harold agreed not to sell any nylon cooking utensils in California after the Alameda County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the utensils contain less than 200 parts per million of 4,4’-MDA by weight and produce a leach result of less than 10 ug/L of 4,4’-MDA when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. 

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $17,500, 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.