Held v. Sunrise Brands, LLC, et al.

On June 23, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Sunrise Brands LLC, et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant, Sunrise Brands, LLC ("Sunrise"), 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, Sunrise agreed not to sell belts in California unless such belts contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP in every accessible component when analyzed pursuant to state and federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Sunrise's commitment to comply with these heightened standards, Held agreed to credit Sunrise with a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $44,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.