Wozniak v. Prat/Paris, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak and settling party Prat/Paris, Inc. (“Prat/Paris”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on July 18, 2014, which resolved Wozniak’s allegations that Prat/Paris sold art portfolios with vinyl/PVC handles 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, Prat/Paris agreed not to sell any art portfolios in California after August 15, 2014, unless the portfolios meet the reformulation requirements outlined in Section 2.1 of the Settlement Agreement or have Proposition 65 warnings provided pursuant to Section 2.3.  Should Prat/Paris provide written certification by September 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, that all art portfolios 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 $35,000, 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.