Held v. Corsair Memory, Inc.

On January 20, 2015, the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. made against settling party Corsair Memory, Inc. and Corsair Components, Inc. (collectively, “Corsair”).  In this matter, Held alleged that Corsair sold headsets 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 settlement, Corsair agreed not to sell any headsets with vinyl/PVC components in California after January 23, 2015, unless the headsets contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Corsair provide written certification by February 13, 2015, that all headsets with vinyl/PVC components qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $45,250, 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.