Held v. Lippert Components, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Drew Industries Incorporated, et al. executed a Consent Judgment on March 31, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. alleged that Lippert Components, Inc. (“Lippert”) sold chairs with vinyl/PVC upholstery 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, Lippert agreed not to sell any chairs with vinyl/PVC upholstery in California after the Santa Clara County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the chairs contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $29,000, 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.