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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
a.    Litigation—General

We are involved in litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business. A portion of the defense and/or settlement costs associated with such litigation is covered by various commercial liability insurance policies purchased by us and, in limited cases, indemnification from third parties. Our policy is to establish reserves for loss contingencies when the losses are both probable and reasonably able to be estimated. We record legal costs associated with loss contingencies as expenses in the period in which they are incurred. The matters described below represent our significant loss contingencies. We have evaluated each matter and, if both probable and reasonably able to be estimated, accrued an amount that represents our estimate of any probable loss associated with such matter. In addition, we have estimated a reasonably possible range for all loss contingencies including those described below. We believe it is reasonably possible that we could incur aggregate losses in addition to amounts currently accrued for all matters up to an additional $19,500 over the next several years, of which certain amounts would be covered by insurance or indemnity arrangements.
b.    Italy Fire
On November 4, 2011, we experienced a fire at a facility we leased in Aprilia, Italy. The facility primarily stored archival and inactive business records for local area businesses. Despite quick response by local fire authorities, damage to the building was extensive, and the building and its contents were a total loss. We have been sued by six customers. Four of those lawsuits have been settled and two remain pending, including a claim asserted by Azienda per i Transporti Autoferrotranviari del Comune di Roma, S.p.A, seeking 42,600 Euros for the loss of its current and historical archives. We have also received correspondence from other affected customers, including certain customers demanding payment under various theories of liability. Although our warehouse legal liability insurer has reserved its rights to contest coverage related to certain types of potential claims, we believe we carry adequate insurance. We deny any liability with respect to the fire and we have referred these claims to our warehouse legal liability insurer for an appropriate response. We do not expect that this event will have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We sold our Italian operations on April 27, 2012, and we indemnified the buyers related to certain obligations and contingencies associated with the fire. As a result of the sale of the Italian operations, any future statement of operations and cash flow impacts related to the fire will be reflected as discontinued operations.
c.    Argentina Fire
On February 5, 2014, we experienced a fire at a facility we own in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a result of the quick response by local fire authorities, the fire was contained before the entire facility was destroyed and all employees were safely evacuated; however, a number of first responders lost their lives, or in some cases, were severely injured. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated. We believe we carry adequate insurance and do not expect that this event will have a material impact to our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Revenues from our operations at this facility represent less than 0.5% of our consolidated revenues.
d.    Brooklyn Fire (Recall)
On January 31, 2015, a former Recall leased facility located in Brooklyn, New York was completely destroyed by a fire. Approximately 900,000 cartons of customer records were lost impacting approximately 1,200 customers. No one was injured as a result of the fire. We believe we carry adequate insurance to cover any losses resulting from the fire. There are two pending customer-related lawsuits stemming from the fire, which are being defended by our warehouse legal liability insurer. We have also received correspondence from other customers, under various theories of liability. We deny any liability with respect to the fire and we have referred these claims to our insurer for an appropriate response. We do not expect that this event will have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

e.    Roye Fire (Recall)

On January 28, 2002, a former leased Recall records management facility located in Roye, France was destroyed by a fire. Local French authorities conducted an investigation relating to the fire and issued a charge of criminal negligence for non-compliance with security regulations against the Recall entity that leased the facility. We intend to defend this matter vigorously. We are currently corresponding with various customers impacted by the fire who are seeking payment under various theories of liability. There is also pending civil litigation with the owner of the destroyed facility, who is demanding payment for lost rental income and other items. Based on known and expected claims and our expectation of the ultimate outcome of those claims, we believe we carry adequate insurance coverage. We do not expect that this event will have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

f.    Puerto Rico Facility Damage

In September 2017, two of our four facilities in Puerto Rico, one of which is owned and one of which we lease, sustained damage as a result of Hurricane Maria. The leased facility experienced structural damage to a portion of the roof and wall, while the owned facility sustained non-structural damage to a portion of the roof. Both buildings sustained water damage that impacted certain customer records and we are in the process of fully assessing the extent of the damage to our customers’ records at these facilities. We believe we carry adequate insurance coverage for this event and do not believe it will have a material impact to our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Revenues from our operations in Puerto Rico represent less than 0.5% of our consolidated revenues.