Held v. Punch Studio, LLC

Citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party Punch Studio, LLC (“Punch Studio”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on May 1, 2014, which resolved Held’s allegations that Punch Studio sold cases with vinyl/PVC handles 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, Punch Studio agreed not to sell any cases with vinyl/PVC handles in California after May 15, 2014, unless the cases meet the reformulation requirements outlined in Section 2.1 of the Consent Judgment or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Punch Studio provide written certification by October 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, that all cases sold in California qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $31,000, 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.