Leeman v. Teance Fine Teas

The parties involved in the case Leeman v. Starbucks Corporation, et al. executed a Consent Judgment on March 29, 2018.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. alleged that Teance Fine Teas (“Teance”) sold dried teas containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Teance agreed not to sell any dried teas in California after the San Francisco County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the teas are virtually free of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $8,000, 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.