CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT [Abstract]

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

16.CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

In February 2016, the Company entered into a Settlement Term Sheet (the "Agreement") in potential settlement of the previously reported putative securities class action consolidated lawsuit. The litigation was brought against the Company and certain of the Company's officers (collectively, the "Defendants") on behalf of a class consisting of persons or entities that publicly traded the Company's common stock during the period from May 4, 2011 through January 17, 2014 and were allegedly damaged thereby. In May 2016, the court issued preliminary approval of the settlement. In October 2016, the court gave its final approval of the settlement and dismissed the consolidated class action complaint in its entirety, with prejudice.

The terms of the Agreement provide for, among other things, a settlement payment by, or on behalf of, the Company of $47 million, which the Company recorded as a short-term liability in its consolidated balance sheet. As expected, the Company's insurers fully funded the settlement payment in an escrow account in June 2016, and the Company maintained the corresponding amount as a short-term receivable, which it had recorded during the first quarter of 2016. There was no net impact on the Company's consolidated statement of income.