Held v. Ava Enterprises, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Ava Enterprises executed a Consent Judgment on January 13, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. alleged that Ava Enterprises, Inc. (“Ava”) sold headphones with vinyl/PVC components containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Ava agreed not to sell any headphones with vinyl/PVC components in California after January 15, 2015, unless the headphones contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Ava provide written certification that all headphones with vinyl/PVC components sold in California qualify as reformulated by April 15, 2015, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $48,500, 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.