Leeman v. Koch Industries, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Whitney Leeman and settling defendant Koch Industries, Inc. (“Koch”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on December 9, 2013, which resolved Leeman’s allegations that Koch sold coated wire clotheslines 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, Koch agreed not to sell any coated wire clotheslines in California after December 5, 2013, unless the clotheslines contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Koch provide written certification that all clotheslines meet reformulation standards by December 31, 2013, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $37,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.