Held v. Scosche Industries, Inc.

On December 2, 2014, the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Anthony Held, Ph.D, P.E., made against settling party Scosche Industries, Inc. (“Scosche”).  In this matter, Held alleged that Scosche sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and/or the heavy metal lead and vinyl/PVC tape containing DEHP in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Scosche agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips or vinyl/PVC tape in California after December 2, 2014, unless the products contain no more than 90 parts per million of lead and/or 1,000 parts per million of DEHP, di-n-butyl phthalate, and butyl benzyl phthalate in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or Proposition 65 warnings are provided.  Additionally, Scosche agreed to notify its vendors of the reformulation standards and instruct them to provide products that comply expeditiously.  Should Scosche provide written certification by April 1, 2015, that all tools with vinyl/PVC grips and vinyl/PVC tape 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 $45,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.