Wozniak v. Nordstrom, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Wozniak v. Nordstrom, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on January 21, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak alleged that Nordstrom, Inc. (“Nordstrom”) sold drinking glasses with exterior designs containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Nordstrom agreed not to sell any drinking glasses with exterior designs in California after the Marin County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the glasses contain no more than 90 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Wozniak has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty should Nordstrom provide Wozniak with certification that all drinking glasses with exterior designs sold in California qualify as reformulated by January 31, 2016.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $29,000, 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.