Ninth Circuit provides companies new guidance and much needed potential relief in Prop 65 litigation

[Source: JDSUPRA/Jeffrey Goldman & Victoria Phan-Troutman Pepper] For decades, companies have faced lawsuits for violation of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also known as “Prop 65.” Some of these actions are legitimate, while others often bear resemblance to a shakedown. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit may have provided some much Read More…

Prop 65 bounty hunters barred from filing acrylamide lawsuits based on First Amendment

[Source: MONDAQ] In a landmark ruling with implications for the future of Proposition 65 enforcement, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California has preliminarily enjoined any person from filing or prosecuting lawsuits seeking cancer warnings for acrylamide on food and beverage products sold in California. The ruling stops hundreds of enforcement actions Read More…

Prop 65 reform sorely needed in California

[Source: The Business Journal] The first line in a recent alert from the California Chamber of Commerce is tongue-in-cheek, but clearly represents how things are in the Golden State when it comes to business regulation. “WARNING: Everything in California May Cause Cancer.” The CalChamber alert is about a proposed change to Prop. 65 Warning Rules, Read More…

The profusion of notices stemming from Prop. 65 leaves shoppers potentially unprotected

[Source: Los Angeles Times] Vermont Soap’s feel-good natural products came with everything a California consumer had come to expect: an organic certification, a non-GMO seal of approval, a “cruelty free” bunny silhouette. And a warning that it harbored a “chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.” Confused? Read More…

New Proposition 65 regulations take effect August 30

[Source: CalChamber] WARNING: Beginning August 30, 2018, new Proposition 65 regulations will take effect that significantly overhaul longstanding warning regulations and depart from the rules that businesses have relied on for decades. Accordingly, it is imperative that businesses operating or selling into California reassess and potentially overhaul their long-established Proposition 65 compliance programs before the effective Read More…

CalChamber-supported Prop. 65 litigation reform passes policy committee

[Source: California Chamber of Commerce] A California Chamber of Commerce-supported bill — AB 1583 (Chau; D-Monterey Park) — improves transparency and reduces litigation costs in Proposition 65 cases against California businesses passed an Assembly policy committee yesterday. Proposition 65 was designed to protect California’s drinking water from chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects, Read More…

Latest draft Prop. 65 warning regulations take several steps backwards

[Source: California Chamber of Commerce] The latest proposed revisions to the state’s Proposition 65 warning regulations are problematic and unworkable, the California Chamber of Commerce and a broad coalition explain in a letter to the agency leading the rule drafting. The revisions proposed by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) take several steps Read More…