Held v. Accessory Innovations, LLC

On May 3, 2010, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Accessory Innovations, LLC ("Accessory Innovations") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Accessory Innovations sold children's backpacks containing excessive amounts of the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Accessory Innovations agreed not to sell any children's backpacks in California after May 28, 2010, unless the backpacks contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $18,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.