Held v. Smiles Fashion Corporation, et al.

In the enforcement action Held v. Smiles Fashion Corporation, et al., the Santa Clara County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment on January 3, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations that the defendant Smiles Fashion Corporation (“Smiles”) sold belts 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, Smiles agreed not to sell any belts in California after October 1, 2012, unless the belts contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP in any accessible component that may be touched or handled during reasonably foreseeable use when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Smiles comply with these heightened standards and guarantee that 100% of belts sold or distributed in California are reformulated by December 15, 2012, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.    

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $23,500, 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.