Held v. Jimco Lamp & Manufacturing Company

The parties involved in the case Held v. Jimco Lamp & Manufacturing Company, et al. executed a Consent Judgment on September 29, 2014.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., alleged that Jimco Lamp & Manufacturing Company (“Jimco”) sold lamps with vinyl/PVC components 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 agreement, Jimco agreed not to sell any lamps in California after November 30, 2014, unless the lamps contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have the appropriate Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Jimco provide written certification that all lamps sold in California qualify as reformulated or comply with the warning requirements by December 15, 2014, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $45,500, 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.