Held v. Arrow Plastic Manufacturing Co.

On December 27, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Arrow Plastic Manufacturing Co. ("Arrow") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Arrow sold glassware with colored artwork or designs on the exterior containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Arrow agreed not to distribute or sell any glassware with colored artwork or designs on the exterior in California after January 1, 2012, unless the glassware complies with the reformulation standards set forth in Section 2 of the Agreement when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Arrow's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $66,500, 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.