Held v. Great American Products, Ltd. and Dyna Group International

Whistleblower Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling parties Dyna Group International and Great American Products, Inc. (collectively “Great American”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on October 15, 2014, which resolved Held’s allegations that Great American sold vinyl/PVC beverage insulators 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, Great American agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC beverage insulators in California after July 15, 2014, unless the beverage insulators 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 Great American provide written certification by December 1, 2014, that all vinyl/PVC beverage insulators sold in California qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $39,500, 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.