Held v. Art Supply Enterprises, Inc.

On February 15, 2018, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling party Art Supply Enterprises, Inc. (“Art Supply”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Held had alleged that Art Supply sold vinyl/PVC cutting mats containing di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Art Supply agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC cutting mats in California after February 19, 2018, unless the mats contain less than 1,000 parts per million (“ppm”) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $19,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.