Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Orange County Partner Ryan Landis obtained a dismissal for a manufacturer/distributor of eyeshadow palette products in a civil action brought under California’s Safe Drinking Water & Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (“Prop 65”).
The private enforcer plaintiff alleged the company manufactured and/or distributed eyeshadow palette products into California that exposed consumers to titanium dioxide (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size) at levels that the plaintiff claims would require a Prop 65 warning. The private enforcer’s counsel sought over one million dollars in civil penalties as well as attorney fees and costs under the California civil enforcer statute.
In pre-motion "meet and confer" correspondence, Mr. Landis set forth uncontroverted evidence in support of one of the defenses available under Prop 65. The arguments set forth by Mr. Landis were compelling such that the counsel for the private enforcer agreed to dismiss the action entirely without the client having to file and argue a costly motion.
The dismissal is significant as the same private enforcer has filed over 150 similar actions in various courts throughout California with almost all of the actions still pending after six months or a year of protracted litigation and discovery. The dismissal obtained by Mr. Landis saved the client tens of thousands of dollars in defense costs.