Held v. Fox Head, Inc., et al.

On June 8, 2012, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Fox Head, Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant, Fox Head Inc. ("Fox"), sold cosmetic cases/bags 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, Fox agreed not to sell cosmetic cases/bags in California, after February 22, 2012, unless they are reformulated to contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed pursuant to state and federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Fox's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit Fox with a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $53,000, 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.