Held v. Mondo USA, Inc., et al.

On September 15, 2009, the Santa Clara County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Mondo USA, Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Mondo USA, Inc. ("Mondo") sold soft sports balls 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, Mondo agreed not to manufacture any soft sport balls in California after August 17, 2009, unless the soft sport balls contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $24,500, to be 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.