Held v. RVC Enterprises LLC

On October 7, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant RVC Enterprises LLC ("RVC"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that RVC distributed and/or sold jackets 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, RVC agreed not to sell any jackets in California after November 24, 2011, unless the jackets are "DEHP Free." Such jackets must contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $27,500, 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.