Held v. Two's Company, Inc.

On June 24, 2009, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling defendant Two's Company, Inc. ("Two's Company") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Two's Company sold vinyl keychains and shopping totes 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, Two's Company agreed not to sell any vinyl keychains or shopping totes in California after June 11, 2009, unless the keychains and totes contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 health hazard warnings provided. 100% of keychains and shopping totes offered for sale in California by Two's Company after August 31, 2009, shall qualify as reformulated.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $16,800, 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.