Held v. School Specialty, Inc., et al.

On August 21, 2009, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. School Specialty, Inc. et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant School Specialty, Inc. ("School Specialty") sold children's soft vinyl toys and inflatable vinyl toys 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, School Specialty agreed not to sell any children's soft vinyl toys and inflatable vinyl toys in California after June 15, 2009, unless the toys are shipped and/or sold with Proposition 65 health hazard warnings or contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. By September 1, 2009, 100% of baseball/sporting toys and inflatable toys sold in California by School Specialty shall qualify as reformulated.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $29,500, to be 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.