Held v. Escante, Inc.

Posted: 04/03/2013  browse the case archive

Whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations against settling party Escante, Inc. (“Escante”) were resolved on April 3, 2013, when the parties entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  Held alleged that Escante sold costumes with belts 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, Escante agreed not to sell any costumes with belts in California after March 31, 2013, unless the belts contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Escante provide written certification that it has complied with these heightened standards by June 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, Held agreed to waive 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 citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.

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