Englander v. Accessory Zone, LLC

The Settlement Agreement between citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party Accessory Zone, LLC (“Accessory Zone”) was executed on July 22, 2013.  This out-of-court agreement resolved Englander’s allegations that Accessory Zone sold vinyl accessory bags/pouches 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, Accessory Zone agreed not to sell the specific vinyl bags/pouches identified in the Settlement Agreement in California after July 22, 2013, unless the bags/pouches contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Accessory Zone provide written certification that the accessory bags/pouches have been reformulated by May 15, 2014, and continuing to the future, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $38,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.