Held v. Thro, Inc.

Whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations against settling party Thro, Inc. (“Thro”) were resolved on December 23, 2013, when the parties entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement.  In this matter, Held alleged that Thro sold pillows with vinyl/PVC coverings 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, Thro agreed not to sell any pillows with coverings in California after December 23, 2013, unless the pillows contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (.1%) of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Because Thro agreed to provide written certification that all pillows sold in California after December 23, 2013, shall 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 $28,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the waived civil penalty, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.