Leeman v. Vanroden, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D and settling party Vanoden, Inc. (“Vanroden”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement on April 16, 2015.  Leeman had alleged that Vanroden sold vinyl/PVC notebook covers 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, Vanroden agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC notebook covers in California after September 15, 2015, unless the products contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Vanroden accelerate its reformulation schedule and provide written certification to Leeman that all its vinyl/PVC notebook covers sold in California qualify as reformulated by August 15, 2015, Leeman has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalties.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $42,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.