Held v. Brandon Thomas Designs, Inc., et al.

On August 15, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Brandon Thomas, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Brandon Thomas Designs, Inc. ("Brandon Thomas") sold belts 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 settlement, Brandon Thomas agreed not to sell belts in California unless they are reformulated so that they contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed pursuant to state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Brandon Thomas's immediate commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit Brandon Thomas with portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $43,000, 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.