Held v. J.T. Posey Company

The parties involved in the case Held v. J.T. Posey Company executed a Consent Judgment on May 26, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held., Ph.D., P.E. alleged that J.T. Posey Company (“Posey”) sold vinyl/PVC lap cushions 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, Posey agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC lap cushions in California after September 1, 2016, unless the cushions contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR they have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Posey provide Held with certification by September 1, 2016 that all vinyl/PVC lap cushions sold in California qualify as reformulated by the above standards, Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $36,800, 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.