Held v. Fourstar International Trading Co., Fourstar Group U.S.A.

On January 6, 2009, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Fourstar International Trading Co., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendants Fourstar Group Inc. and Fourstar Group USA, Inc. ("Fourstar") sold inflatable vinyl toys and other children's vinyl items 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, Fourstar agreed not to sell any inflatable vinyl toys and other children's vinyl items in California after October 1, 2008, unless the toys and other items are sold or shipped with Proposition 65 warnings or contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Fourstar's prompt cooperation and commitment to reformulation, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. The settlement sum does not include fees incurred seeking judicial approval of the Consent Judgment.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $91,000, 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.