Held v. Klutz, et al.

On May 13, 2011, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Klutz; et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Klutz sold children's books with vinyl pouches containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health warnings.

As part of the settlement, Klutz agreed not to manufacture any children's books with vinyl pouches in California after May 13, 2011, unless each accessible component of the children's books contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Should Klutz comply with these heightened standards by February 28, 2011, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $35,000, 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.