Held v. Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC

On October 15, 2015, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. and settling party Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC ( “Neiman”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement.  Held had alleged that Neiman sold earmuffs with vinyl/PVC cords 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, Neiman agreed not to sell any earmuffs with vinyl/PVC cords in California after November 15, 2015, unless the earmuffs contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $31,000, 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.