Held v. Peter Thomas Roth Labs LLC

On April 23, 2012, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Peter Thomas Roth Labs LLC, which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E's allegations that defendant Peter Thomas Roth Labs LLC ("PTRL"), sold toiletry cases/bags containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As a part of the settlement, PTRL agreed not to sell any toiletry cases/bags in California after February 1, 2012, unless the toiletry cases/bags contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Due to PTRL's commitment to comply with these heightened standards and cooperation throughout the settlement process, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $35,000, 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.