Held v. J.C.S. Apparel Group, Incorporated

On October 4, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant J.C.S. Apparel Group, Incorporated ("J.C.S."), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that J.C.S. sold jackets with belts 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, J.C.S. agreed not to sell any jackets with belts in California after September 30, 2011, unless the jackets with belts contain less than .1% of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies, or carry Proposition 65 warnings as defined in Section 2.3 of the Settlement Agreement.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $20,500, 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.