Wozniak v. Rug Doctor, LLC

On January 25, 2018, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak and settling party Rug Doctor, LLC (“Rug Doctor”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Wozniak had alleged that Rug Doctor sold vinyl/PVC hoses 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, Rug Doctor agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC hoses in California after February 1, 2018, unless the hoses contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $19,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Wozniak and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.