Held v. Disguise, Inc.

On August 21, 2009, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Toys "R" Us Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Disguise, Inc. ("Disguise") sold costume accessories which contain phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Disguise agreed not to manufacture or sell any costume accessories in California after June 30, 2009, unless the costume accessories contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or are shipped with Proposition 65 health hazard warnings.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $36,000, to be 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.