Held v. MSR Imports, Incorporated

On December 9, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant MSR Imports, Inc. ("MSR"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that MSR sold wallets 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 Agreement, MSR agreed not to sell any wallets in California after November 15, 2011, unless the wallets qualify as reformulated or carry the appropriate Proposition 65 warnings as defined in Section 2.3 of the Settlement Agreement. Reformulated wallets must contain less than .1% concentration of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to MSR's commitment to comply by these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $18,000, 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.