Dennis Raglin

Dennis Raglin brings more than 30 years of experience counseling and defending manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and online marketplaces in matters involving a diverse range of products, including food and supplements, textiles, cosmetics, tools, home goods, and personal care and cleaning products.

Dennis represents and counsels clients large and small on California’s Proposition 65 right-to-know chemical warnings law. A tenacious litigator, Dennis has represented clients in high-stakes, bet-the-company cases. Because of the risk involved, Prop 65 cases rarely proceed to trial, but Dennis has been part of three trial teams that secured defense decisions in cases involving food products over the past four years — landmark wins for the food industry demonstrating that even a plaintiff-friendly law can be successfully defended. He was also part of the team that secured a landmark victory in the California Court of Appeals, establishing that federal law preempts Prop 65 warnings for generic over-the-counter medications, and he has negotiated favorable resolutions for national clients in high-profile Prop 65 matters brought by the California attorney general. Dennis brings deep insight into this complex and highly technical body of law, having advised companies of every size on how Proposition 65 affects their business and on the steps required to strengthen a defense from the day a violation notice is received through resolution — whether by dismissal, settlement, or trial.

Beyond Prop 65, Dennis advises clients on a broad spectrum of state and federal consumer regulation, including bans and restrictions on PFAS and microplastics; packaging, recycling, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws; carbon and climate emissions reporting; and consumer privacy. Given the growing and increasingly complex patchwork of these regulations, Dennis helps clients understand their obligations and manage the risks they present, working with companies of all sizes to develop practical, effective strategies — whether through strengthened compliance programs, negotiated resolutions, or litigation. He also counsels and defends clients in consumer product false advertising and class action matters, and on compliance with federal regulations governing food and consumer products, including those administered by the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission.

Dennis writes and speaks frequently on Prop 65 and consumer regulatory compliance. He created the “Compliance Science” webinar series, in which he and a toxicologist examine how proper exposure assessments and laboratory testing can determine the outcome of a Prop 65 case, and he is a regular panelist at the annual Prop 65 Conference on trial strategy and defense, particularly regarding exposure in food products. His objective is to help clients stay ahead of their compliance obligations nationwide — minimizing risk before it becomes a liability.
 

Proposition 65 and Chemical-Related Matters

• Part of team securing a 2024 defense verdict in a Prop 65 trial involving lead in turmeric. 
• Obtained dismissal of a major Prop 65 food case during a lengthy trial on the scope of relevant products.
• Achieved a 2023 defense verdict finding no Proposition 65 warning was required on a national rice manufacturer’s products.
• Part of team securing 2023 appellate victory confirming federal law preempts Proposition 65 warnings for over-the-counter generic medications.
• Negotiated favorable resolution with the California attorney general in a yearslong Proposition 65 claim involving lead in baby and toddler formulas.
• Obtained  dismissal of Proposition 65 claims against national manufacturers and retailers regarding cadmium in antacids and lead/DEHP exposure in consumer products through dispositive expert evidence.
• Secured multiple dismissals of supplement makers in a claim of excessive heavy metals in health food products.

Compliance Counseling

• Counsel one of the world’s leading rice manufacturers on Proposition 65 compliance.
• Advise trade associations and manufacturers on supply chain management, vendor certification, and compliance with state and federal chemical regulations, including PFAS, packaging, and personal care products.
• Develop and review compliance programs for online marketplaces, including merchant education and contractual updates to address California chemical law and Proposition 65.
• Counsel a national publishing company on compliance requirements of state EPR laws.
• Advise a national tool company on obligations under California’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting laws.
• Counsel a client on applicable state and FDA regulations for establishing a new line of beverages.

Advertising and Consumer Protection

• Represented national food companies in proposed class actions alleging misleading protein labeling in violation of FDA and California regulations.
• Represent and advise companies in matters alleging false and deceptive advertising and violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law based on labeling and marketing of products promising health benefits and claims of “all natural” ingredients. 
• Represented numerous food and product manufacturers in claims of misleading advertising under California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
• Represented a national tool manufacturer in claims alleging violation of the FTC “Green Guide” and California’s recycling laws.
• Represented numerous manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of consumer products in hundreds of prelitigation and litigation Proposition 65 matters, representing one-person businesses and Fortune 500 companies, in matters involving as few as 12 and as many as several hundred thousand allegedly noncompliant products.

• American Bar Association
  • Executive Editor, Litigation Journal
• State Bar of California
• LA Animal Services, West Los Angeles
  • Senior Volunteer

• “Prop 65 Under Pressure: Updates, Compliance Strategies, and Enforcement Activity,” Annual Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Forum on Cosmetics and Personal Care Products, American Conference Institute, Santa Monica, CA (October 9, 2025)
• "Compliance Science: How Prop 65 Product Testing and Exposure Assessments Help Win Cases" (June 5, 2025)
• "California's Proposition 65 Chemical Warnings Law," Deco '25, Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products, Columbus, OH (April 27, 2025)
• "California's Proposition 65 Chemical Warnings Law," Enheasa (January 30, 2025)
• "Proposition 65 and Consumer Class Actions," 8th Annual Restaurant Legal Summit,  San Juan, PR (October 24, 2024)
• "Beech-Nut Lives On: Calculating Exposure in Food," 2024 Proposition 65 Conference, Prop 65 Clearinghouse, San Francisco, CA (September 23, 2024)
• "Consumer Chemical Regulation Update," Deco '24, Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products, Louisville, KY (April 13, 2024)
• "Compliance Science: Prop 65 and PFAS Exposure Assessments" (February 15, 2024)
• "Chemical Law Update: Consumer Chemical Regulations and Best Practices" (December 14, 2023)
• "A Guide to West Coast Packaging and Labeling Requirements for Cosmetics Manufacturers,” Annual Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Forum on
  Cosmetics and Personal Care Products, American Conference Institute, Santa Monica, CA (September 28, 2023)
• "Prop 65 and Testing Laboratories" and "Recent Prop 65 Appeals Decisions," 2023 Proposition 65 Conference, Prop 65 Clearinghouse, San Francisco, CA (September 18, 2023)
• "California's Proposition 65: Latest Developments and Best Practices," Food Contact Regulations USA 2023, Chemical Watch Events and Training, Washington, D.C. (June 29, 2023)
• "California Consumer Products Chemical Law Update: Prop 65, CA Green Chemistry, PFAS, and Chemical Reporting (June 21, 2023)
• "CA Proposition 65 and PFAS Update," Deco '23, Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products, Pittsburgh, PA (April 23, 2023)
• "Proposition 65 Compliance for Online Marketplace Merchants," Wish.com (March 14, 2022)
• "First Amendment Argument: Has Anything Changed?," 2020 Proposition 65 Conference, Prop 65 Clearinghouse (September 21, 2020)
• "Innovative Defenses to Prop 65: Does Wheat Growers v. Becerra Resurrect Constitutional Challenges to California’s Proposition 65?" (August 13, 2020)