Held v. Millenium Clothing, Inc., et al.

On June 1, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Millenium Clothing, Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant, Millenium Clothing, Inc. ("Millenium"), sold belts 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, Millenium agreed sell in California after December 15, 2012, only belts that contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed pursuant to state and federally approved testing methodologies. Additionally, Millenium agreed to provide the reformulation standard to its then-current vendors by July 1, 2012 and instruct them to use reasonable efforts to provide only reformulated belts expeditiously. Due to Millenium's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the penalties that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $36,000, 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.