As You Sow v. Childers Products Company, Inc., et al.

In a stipulated judgment agreed to by the parties on June 7, 1995, and entered as a judgment by the Alameda County Superior Court on June 26, 1995 (Case No. 750238-5), Proposition 65 private enforcer and whistleblower, As You Sow, and coating, adhesives, and sealant manufacturer, Childers Products Company, Inc., reached a resolution of the claims alleged in AYS's February 9, 1995, 60-day notice of violation of Proposition 65 and the consecutive litigation between the parties. In its notice of violation and the complaint filed in the private enforcement action, AYS alleged that CPC failed to warn consumers and other individuals in California, who were exposed to methylene chloride from CPC's coating and adhesive products, of the health hazards associated with such exposures. Methylene chloride is listed pursuant to Proposition 65 as a chemical that is known to the state to cause cancer.

Under the terms of the settlement, CPC began providing specific Proposition 65 health hazard warnings on the labels of its products containing any Proposition 65-listed chemical. CPC was also required to provide health hazard warning stickers to its customers in California to be applied to any inventory of CPC products that did not bear a warning. Under the settlement, CPC made an $8,340 settlement payment to AYS for costs and restitution. AYS allocated the restitution component of the payment to Unplug, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating school children about environmental issues. The cost component of the settlement was used to reimburse AYS for the reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred investigating, bringing the matter to CPC's attention, litigating, and negotiating a settlement of the private enforcement action in the public interest.