Held v. Rhode Island Novelty, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Rhode Island Novelty, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on December 23, 2015.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. alleged that Rhode Island Novelty, Inc. (“Rhode Island Novelty”) sold vinyl/PVC game cases 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, Rhode Island Novelty agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC game cases in California after December 1, 2015, unless the cases contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty should Rhode Island Novelty provide Held with certification that all vinyl/PVC game cases sold in California qualify as reformulated by December 1, 2015.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $39,000, 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.