Held v. Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits, LLC

On October 9, 2012, citizen enforcer Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits, LLC ("Fashion Avenue"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Fashion Avenue sold 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, Fashion Avenue agreed not to sell any belts in California after October 15, 2012, unless the belts comply with the reformulation standards set forth in Section 2.1 of the Settlement Agreement or carry the appropriate Proposition 65 warnings as defined in Section 2.3 of the Settlement Agreement. Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalties that would otherwise be applied if Fashion Avenue was able to eliminate the need for Proposition 65 warnings on the belts by November 1, 2012.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $23,000, 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.