Consumer Cause, Inc. v. Johnson & Johnson

This is a Proposition 65 (Health & Saf. Code, § 25249.5 et seq.) case brought by a private organization called Consumer Cause, Inc., against a number of manufacturers of stainless steel surgical stents and similar implantable surgical devices. The complaints alleged that the devices were composed of nickel and nickel compounds, chemicals known to the state to cause cancer, and that the manufacturers had failed to warn consumers of the exposures, thus violating section 25249.6, which provides that “[n]o person in the course of doing business shall knowingly and intentionally expose any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer . . . without first giving clear and reasonable warning . . . .” The case was resolved with a consent judgment which was approved by the trial court (§ 25249.7, subd. (f)(4)) and which included an award of $58,000 in attorney fees to Consumer Cause.

The appeal was filed by the Attorney General, who objected to the settlement below. (§ 25249.7, subd. (f)(5).) He argues, inter alia, that the warnings specified in the consent judgment do not satisfy the statute, and that although the consent judgment purports to apply to a long list…