Held v. Mechanical Servants, Inc.

Citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party Mechanical Servants, Inc. (“Mechanical Servants”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on June 6, 2014, which resolved Held’s allegations that Mechanical Servants sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips 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, Mechanical Servants agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after the Contra Costa County Superior Court approves the Consent Judgment, unless the tools meet the reformulation requirements outlined in Section 2.1 of the Consent Judgment or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Mechanical Servants provide written certification by July 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, that all tools sold in California qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $40,000, 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.