Englander v. Grand Basket Co., Inc.

In the enforcement action Englander v. Grand Basket Co., Inc., citizen enforcer Peter Englander’s allegations against defendant Grand Basket Co., Inc. (“Grand Basket”) were resolved on March 21, 2014, when the parties executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, Englander alleged that Grand Basket sold patio chairs with foam padding containing the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (“TDCPP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Grand Basket agreed not to sell any patio chairs in California after March 31, 2014, unless the chairs contain no detectable amount of TDCPP or tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (“TCEP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Grand Basket agreed to provide its vendors with the reformulation standards by April 1, 2014, and instruct them to provide chairs that comply expeditiously.  Chairs currently existing in Grand Basket’s inventory must be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Grand Basket provide written certification that all patio chairs sold in California after April 15, 2014 qualify as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine.  Additionally, Englander provided a credit for extending the breadth of reformulation, among other credits available, if Grand Basket should provide written certification that all chairs sold in California after April 15, 2014, contain no detectable amounts of tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (“TDBPP”) in addition to satisfying the TDCPP and TCEP requirements.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $131,000, 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.