Held v. Howard Berger Co., LLC

Posted: 12/03/2015  browse the case archive

The parties involved in the case Held v. Howard Berger Co., LLC executed a Consent Judgment on December 3, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. alleged that Howard Berger Co., LLC (“HBC”) sold vinyl/PVC electrical tape containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and vinyl/PVC gloves containing the phthalate chemical diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the agreement, HBC agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC electrical tape or vinyl/PVC gloves in California after the San Mateo County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the tape and gloves contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP or DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should HBC provide written certification that all vinyl/PVC gloves and vinyl/PVC electrical tape sold in California qualify as reformulated by April 15, 2016, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $39,250, 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.   

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