Held v. Diversified Products, Incorporated

On February 23, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Diversified Products, Incorporated ("Diversified"), entered into an an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Diversified sold eyewear cases 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, Diversified agreed not to sell any eyewear cases in California after February 9, 2011, unless the eyewear cases contain less than .1% (1,000 parts per million) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Diversified's commitment to comply by these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $26,000, 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.