Held v. The B & F System, Inc.

On March 17, 2015, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. and settling party The B & F System, Inc. (“B & F”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Held had alleged that B & F sold pliers with vinyl/PVC grips and booster cables with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and shot glasses with exterior designs containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, B & F agreed not to sell any pliers with vinyl/PVC grips or booster cables with vinyl/PVC grips in California after March 21, 2015, unless the grips contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or a Proposition 65 warning is provided.  B & F also agreed not to sell any shot glasses with exterior decorations unless the decoration material contains less than 100 parts per million of lead by weight when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or a Proposition 65 warning is provided.  Should B & F provide written certification that all of the above products sold in California qualify as reformulated by September 15, 2015, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $45,500, 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.