Held v. Custom LeatherCraft Mfg. Co., Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Custom LeatherCraft Mfg. Co., Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on December 13, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P. E. alleged that Custom LeatherCraft Mfg. Co., Inc. (“CLC”) sold vinyl/PVC gloves containing the phthalate chemical diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, CLC agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC gloves in California after January 8, 2016, unless the gloves contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty should CLC provide Held with certification that all vinyl/PVC gloves sold in California qualify as reformulated by June 15, 2016.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $34,500, 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.