Held v. John Hinde Curteich, Inc.

On August 3, 2009, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. John Hinde Curteich, Inc., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant John Hinde Curteich, Inc. ("John Hinde") sold key rings, mugs, piggy banks, drink bottles, and door plaques 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, John Hinde agreed not to sell any key rings, mugs, piggy banks, drink bottles, or door plaques in California after April 30, 2009, unless the products are sold or shipped with Proposition 65 warnings or contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. 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.