Held v. Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc., et al.

On September 10, 2009, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc. ("Tommy Hilfiger") sold children's 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, Tommy Hilfiger agreed not to manufacture any children's inflatable vinyl toys in California after June 30, 2009, unless the toys contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. The settlement sum does not include the fees incurred seeking judicial approval of the Consent Judgment.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $31,000, 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.