Held v. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

Whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations against settling party Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (“Fender”) were resolved on October 8, 2013, when the parties entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  In this matter, Held alleged that Fender sold drum thrones with vinyl/PVC upholstery 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, Fender agreed not to sell any drum thrones in California after October 31, 2013, unless the drum thrones contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Fender provide written certification that it has complied with these heightened standards by December 15, 2013, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $38,500, 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.