Held v. Lakeshore Equipment Co. and Lakeshore Learning Materials, et al.

On November 18, 2008, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling defendants Lakeshore Equipment Co. and Lakeshore Learning Materials (collectively "Lakeshore") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Lakeshore sold sporting toys/children's items 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, Lakeshore agreed not to sell any sporting toys or children's items in California after November 18, 2008, unless the toys and children's items have Proposition 65 warnings provided or contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $38,000, 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.