Rival pool chemical companies Blueray XL and PoolRx have reached a settlement agreement after a long legal battle over EPA classifications.
PoolRx sued the company in 2014 for violating unfair competition laws, accusing its competitor of skirting regulations by not fully disclosing to the EPA all the active ingredients in its product.
Both firms are based in Orange County, Calif. and make similar mineral-based swimming pool treatments that activate once placed in pump skimmer baskets. The major difference between the products is that PoolRx is classified as an algaecide, which the federal government considers a pesticide, while Blueray XL is considered a flocculent. As producer of an algaecide, PoolRx has to comply with expensive federal regulations. As maker of a flocculent, Blueray XL does not.
PoolRx said Blueray XL failed to disclose the use of silver nitrate in its product, which the plaintiff argues would have landed Blueray XL in the pesticide category. PoolRx, on the other hand, does not contain the ingredient. “[S]ilver nitrate … makes the Blueray XL more a pesticide than PoolRx,” said CEO Derek Nellmapius.
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Rival Pool Chemical Companies Spar Over EPA Classification
A manufacturer accuses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of giving its competitor an unfair advantage, threatens class-action lawsuit
Because the EPA ruled that Blueray XL was not a pesticide, and therefore wasn’t required to be registered as such, PoolRx filed suit.
Citing mounting legal costs, PoolRx dropped its case against the manufacturer earlier this month.
Blueray XL CEO Chris Galvan said his competitor’s accusations had no merit the moment the EPA ruled in his favor in July of last year. That decision came after more than a year of research into the product. As a result, the Blueray XL 4-in-1 Mineral Clarifier is being marketed as the first product of its kind that is pesticide-free.
“Nevertheless, I am glad Derek and I, in good faith, have come to an agreement and settled this dispute,” Galvan said. “With this dispute behind us, we can now focus more of our time on managing our companies to keep making them successful.”
No money was exchanged, and no conditions were made public as part of the settlement.
For its part, PoolRx’s battles might not be over yet. Nellmapius believes he can make a strong case against the government’s classification of his products and others like it.
“Our next course of action is to reach out to everybody who had a copper- and silver-based pesticide that has to be registered and renewed every year and find out who is prepared to sign up for a class-action suit against the EPA,” Nellmapius said.
