Held v. Houston's, Inc.

Whistleblower Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party Houston’s, Inc. (“Houston’s”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on November 18, 2014, which resolved Held’s allegations that Houston sold vinyl/PVC aprons 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, Houston’s agreed not to sell any aprons in California after November 15, 2014, unless the aprons contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or Proposition 65 warnings are provided.  Should Houston’s provide written certification that by April 15, 2015, and continuing into the future, all aprons sold in California 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 $36,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.