Held v. Gold, Inc.; Target Corporation

On July 21, 2009, the Contra Costa County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Gold, Inc., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Gold, Inc. ("Gold") sold infant booties that can be mouthed 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, Gold agreed not to sell any infant booties that can be mouthed in California after July 31, 2009, unless the booties contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. From May 29, 2009 to July 31, 2009, Gold shall provide Proposition 65 health hazard warnings for all booties that do not meet reformulation standards. The settlement sum does not include fees incurred seeking judicial approval of the Consent Judgment.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $40,000, 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.