Held v. Quick Fitting, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Quick Fitting, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on August 30, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. alleged that Quick Fitting, Inc. (“Quick Fitting”) sold vinyl/PVC ball valve 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 agreement, Quick Fitting agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC ball valve handles in California after the Alameda County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the handles contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $23,000, 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.