As You Sow v. Ideal Stencil Machine & Tape Company, et al.

In a stipulated judgment agreed to by the parties and entered by the Marin County Superior Court on June 19, 1995, Proposition 65 private enforcer and whistleblower, As You Sow, and ink and marking products manufacturer, Ideal Stencil Machine & Tape Company, resolved AYS's claims that Ideal sold ink and marking products containing the Proposition 65-listed chemicals, toluene, lead, chromium, methylene chloride, and perchloroethylene, in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. Toluene is listed pursuant to Proposition 65 as a chemical that is known to cause reproductive harm or birth defects. Lead, chromium, methylene chloride, and perchloroethylene are each listed pursuant to Proposition 65 as a chemical that is known to cause cancer.

Under the terms of the settlement, Ideal was required to provide specific Proposition 65 health hazard warning labels for its ink and marking products by June 1, 1995. The agreement also required Ideal to revise the MSDS included with its products to contain the warning label text, and to provide interim warning stickers to customers who sell or distribute its products for sale in California and request that they apply them to any products in inventory that do not bear a health hazard warning. In addition, the stipulated judgment required that Ideal make settlement payments totaling $15,000, including a $6,000 payment of civil penalties to be divided between the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment ($4,500), and AYS ($1,500). The penalty was due in two equal installments, each of which AYS agreed to waive upon receipt of written certification that Ideal had reformulated its ink and marking products to remove all Proposition 65-listed chemicals. The payments also included a $9,000 restitution 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 Ideal's attention, litigating, and negotiating a settlement of the private enforcement action in the public interest.