Held v. Old World Industries, LLC

The parties involved in the case Held v. Old World Industries, LLC executed a Consent Judgment on September 3, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. alleged that Old World Industries, LLC (“Old World”) sold vinyl/PVC battery clamp cables 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 agreement, Old World agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC battery clamp cables in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the cables contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Vinyl/PVC battery clamp cables that do not meet the above reformulation standards shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Old World provide Held with written certification that all vinyl/PVC battery clamp cables sold in California qualify as reformulated by October 31, 2015, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $40,500, 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.