Environmental Litigation Attorneys
California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (“Proposition 65”), which is codified at Cal. Health & Safety Code §25249.5 et seq. was approved in 1986 by the voters of California. Proposition 65 is a “right to know” statute that requires the State of California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. The list, https://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html, has now grown to include over 800 chemicals.Under Proposition 65 businesses are required to provide “clear and reasonable” warnings to consumers before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone in California to a listed chemical. Businesses can comply with this warning requirement in a variety of different manners, such as labeling the packaging of a product, posting warning signs, or publishing warning notices in newspapers. Businesses with less than 10 employees are exempt from the requirements of Proposition 65. The California Attorney General’s Office, https://oag.ca.gov/prop65, enforces Proposition 65 along with any district attorney or city attorney in a city whose population exceeds 750,000. Private citizens and law firms are also able to enforce Proposition 65 by filing a 60 day notice of violation.
Along with being forced to provide proper warnings or potentially reformulating their products, violators of Proposition 65 are also potentially liable for civil penalties. These penalties for failing to provide notices can be as high as $2,500 per violation per day. These penalties are retroactive for up to a full year (365 days) from the date of a 60 day notice of violation and also includes attorney’s fees. 75% of any civil penalties won by a private enforcer must be sent to the State of California and the remaining 25% is kept by the private enforcer.
The attorneys at Custodio & Dubey LLP have extensive experience litigating Proposition 65 cases. They have the knowledge, contacts, and ability to work closely with toxicologists and laboratories in order to test products for violations of Proposition 65, then to prepare and send out the required 60 day notices of violation, and finally to file a complaint and litigate a case if necessary.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana granted Plaintiffs’ Motion to Approve a Consent Judgment on Friday, May 30, 2014, Case #BC537188. The Consent Judgment is between 4 California Plaintiffs, represented by, Custodio & Dubey LLP, and a group of Defendants made up of several of the largest alcohol manufacturing companies in the world, including: Anheuser-Busch, LLC; Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Heineken USA Incorporated; Beam Inc.; Millercoors LLC; Nolet Spirits U.S.A.; Pabst Brewing Company; and Pernod Ricard USA, LLC.
“We are very pleased that Judge Recana approved the Consent Judgment and found that its terms are in the public interest of the people of California. This ruling helps strengthen the nation’s most effective consumer protection law, Proposition 65.”
Vineet Dubey
Partner, Custodio & Dubey LLP
Read The Press Release Here
VA new report released yesterday by the House of Representatives Economic and Consumer Policy Committee shows many baby food brands failed testing for high levels of toxic heavy metals in their food.
Read The Full Newsy Interview Here
Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, a California law enacted in 1986, fundamentally has changed consumer safety for the better, argues Vineet Dubey, a plaintiff attorney in Los Angeles and co-founder of Custodio & Dubey. He says it has helped protect all Americans from a plethora of harmful substances in consumer products but more needs to be done.
Read the full article on Bloomberg Law
A Los Angeles–based environmental attorney has filed a lawsuit against the massive Trader Joe’s grocery chain in the state of California, alleging that some of the company’s products contain high levels of lead.
Attorney Vineet Dubey, of Custodio & Dubey—the plaintiff’s law firm—confirmed to Popular Mechanics by email that these five products were the ones that contained the highest amounts of lead, according to the lab results, but they weren’t the only products that contained lead
Read the full article on Popular Mechanics
