Held v. Castle Hill Apparel, et al.

On June 27, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Castle Hill Apparel, Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant, Castle Hill Apparel ("Castle Hill"), sold belts containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. Additionally, Held alleged that Castle Hill sold, in California belts containing butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP") and/or di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP"), as well as jewelry apparel containing DEHP, butyl benzyl phthalate ("BBP"), and/or di-n-butyl phthalate ("DBP").

As part of the settlement, Castle Hill agreed not to sell the covered products in California, after August 15, 2012, unless they contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP, BBP and DBP when analyzed pursuant to state and federally approved testing methodologies. Castle Hill also agreed to place Proposition 65 health hazard warnings on the covered products it did not reformulate. Due to Castle Hill's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $24,500, 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