Held et al. v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

The Honorable Roy O. Chernus of the Marin County Superior Court granted the parties’ motion to approve the Consent Judgment in the case Held et al. v. Alticor, Inc., et al., on March 7, 2012.  This enforcement action resolved citizen enforcers John Moore and Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations that eighteen defendants sold products containing phthalate chemicals, including the defendant Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (“Williams-Sonoma”), which allegedly sold chairs containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”), di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”) and butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Williams-Sonoma agreed not to sell any chairs in California after December 15, 2011, unless the chairs contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP, DBP, and BBP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Williams-Sonoma agreed to provide the reformulation standards to its vendors by January 15, 2012, and instruct them to provide chairs that comply with the reformulation standards expeditiously.  As a de minimus defendant, Williams-Sonoma paid a substantially reduced fine.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $28,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblowers Moore and Held and their counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.