Vinocur v. Preferred Nation, Inc.
Posted: 09/18/2018 browse the case archive
On September 18, 2018, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur and settling party Preferred Nation, Inc. (“Preferred Nation”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Vinocur had alleged that Preferred Nation sold vinyl/PVC audio cords 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, Preferred Nation agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC audio cords in California after September 15, 2018, unless the cords contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP or diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.
The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $36,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.