Environmental Law Foundation v. Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), filed a complaint against Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation and various other food manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, seeking enforcement of the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Health & Saf. Code, § 25249.5 et seq.), commonly referred to as Proposition 65. ELF alleged certain of defendants’ products contain toxic amounts of lead sufficient to trigger the duty to provide warnings to consumers. After a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of defendants, concluding they had no duty to warn because they satisfactorily demonstrated that the average consumer’s reasonably anticipated rate of exposure to lead from their products falls below relevant regulatory thresholds. ELF has appealed from the judgment. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Proposition 65 Warning Requirements and Lead

“Proposition 65, added by voter initiative in 1986, is a ‘right to know’ statute requiring companies that expose consumers to carcinogens or reproductive toxins to provide a warning, subject to specified defenses. Section 25249.6 states that ‘[n]o person…