Held v. United Pet Group, Inc.

Posted: 05/21/2014  browse the case archive

The parties involved in the case Held v. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on May 21, 2014.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E., alleged that United Pet Group, Inc. (“United Pet Group”) sold pond nets with vinyl/PVC hand grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, United Pet Group agreed not to sell any pond nets with vinyl/PVC hand grips in California after May 15, 2014, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  As United Pet Group has provided written certification that all of its products sold in California qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $34,000, 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.   

Download PDF

It appears your Web browser is not configured to display PDF files. No worries, just click here to download the PDF file.