Held v. Neogen Corporation

On March 23, 2018, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party Neogen Corporation (“Neogen”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Held had alleged that Neogen sold obstetrical tools with vinyl or plastic handgrips 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, Neogen agreed not to sell any obstetrical tools with vinyl or plastic handgrips in California after March 1, 2018, unless the tools contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $12,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.