On April 19, 2013 Superior Court Judge Cadei on Motion for Preliminary Injunction enjoined OEHHA from listing or taking further action with respect to Bisphenol A (“BPA”) with respect to its listing as a Prop 65 Reproductive hazard. The fact that the Court issued the injunction indicates that the Court believes that the Petitioners are likely to prevail at trial. The issues with the listing is whether the document from the authoritative agency that OEHHA alleges made findings that BPA was a reproductive agent was more equivocal than is permitted by the statute and regulations. An additional factor was the fact that the prior attempt to list BPA also failed.
The Court also distinguished this case from Exxon v. OEHHA (2009) 169 Cal. App.4th 1264 which with the issue of whether animal studies alone are sufficient to support listings; as noted here there was a lack of definitive statements relative to its potential effect. The next step in the judicial process is normally the hearing for on a permanent injunction which the Court will re-try the issue at a formal hearing.