Held v. Gemmy Industries Corporation

On July 16, 2012, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Gemmy Industries Corporation ("Gemmy") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Gemmy sold shower curtains containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

Gemmy maintained that it does not currently sell or distribute shower curtains in California. However, as part of the settlement, should it do so in the future, Gemmy agreed that all shower curtains sold in California shall contain less than 0.1 percent (1,000 parts per million) of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Gemmy's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil penalties 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 whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.