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Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
Various lawsuits, claims and proceedings have been or may be instituted or asserted against us relating to the conduct of our business, including those pertaining to product liability, environmental, safety and health, intellectual property, employment and contract matters. Although the outcome of litigation cannot be predicted with certainty and some lawsuits, claims or proceedings may be disposed of unfavorably to us, we believe the disposition of matters that are pending or have been asserted will not have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We (including our subsidiaries) have been named as a defendant in lawsuits alleging personal injury as a result of exposure to asbestos that was used in certain components of our products many years ago. Currently there are a few thousand claimants in lawsuits that name us as defendants, together with hundreds of other companies. In some cases, the claims involve products from divested businesses, and we are indemnified for most of the costs. However, we have agreed to defend and indemnify asbestos claims associated with products manufactured or sold by our former Dodge mechanical and Reliance Electric motors and motor repair services businesses prior to their divestiture by us, which occurred on January 31, 2007. We are also responsible for half of the costs and liabilities associated with asbestos cases against the former Rockwell International Corporation’s divested measurement and flow control business. But in all cases, for those claimants who do show that they worked with our products or products of divested businesses for which we are responsible, we nevertheless believe we have meritorious defenses, in substantial part due to the integrity of the products, the encapsulated nature of any asbestos-containing components, and the lack of any impairing medical condition on the part of many claimants. We defend those cases vigorously. Historically, we have been dismissed from the vast majority of these claims with no payment to claimants.
We have maintained insurance coverage that we believe covers indemnity and defense costs, over and above self-insured retentions, for claims arising from our former Allen-Bradley subsidiary. Our insurance carrier entered into a cost share agreement with us to pay the substantial majority of future defense and indemnity costs for Allen-Bradley asbestos claims. We believe that this arrangement will continue to provide coverage for Allen-Bradley asbestos claims throughout the remaining life of the asbestos liability.
We also have rights to historic insurance policies that provide indemnity and defense costs, over and above self-insured retentions, for claims arising out of certain asbestos liabilities relating to the divested measurement and flow control business. We initiated litigation against several insurers to pursue coverage for these claims, subject to each carrier's policy limits, and the case is now pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In September 2016, we entered into settlement agreements with certain insurance company defendants, and we continue to pursue our claims against the remaining defendants. We believe these settlement agreements will continue to provide partial coverage for these asbestos claims throughout the remaining life of asbestos liability.
The uncertainties of asbestos claim litigation make it difficult to predict accurately the ultimate outcome of asbestos claims. That uncertainty is increased by the possibility of adverse rulings or new legislation affecting asbestos claim litigation or the settlement process. Subject to these uncertainties and based on our experience defending asbestos claims, we do not believe these lawsuits will have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We have, from time to time, divested certain of our businesses. In connection with these divestitures, certain lawsuits, claims and proceedings may be instituted or asserted against us related to the period that we owned the businesses, either because we agreed to retain certain liabilities related to these periods or because such liabilities fall upon us by operation of law. In some instances, the divested business has assumed the liabilities; however, it is possible that we might be responsible for satisfying those liabilities if the divested business is unable to do so.
In connection with the spin-offs of our former automotive business, semiconductor systems business and avionics and communications business, the spun-off companies have agreed to indemnify us for substantially all contingent liabilities related to the respective businesses, including environmental and intellectual property matters.
In conjunction with the sale of our Dodge mechanical and Reliance Electric motors and motor repair services businesses, we agreed to indemnify Baldor Electric Company for costs and damages related to certain legal, legacy environmental and asbestos matters of these businesses arising before January 31, 2007, for which the maximum exposure would be capped at the amount received for the sale.
11. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities (continued)
In many countries we provide a limited intellectual property indemnity as part of our terms and conditions of sale. We also at times provide limited intellectual property indemnities in other contracts with third parties, such as contracts concerning the development and manufacture of our products. As of June 30, 2017, we were not aware of any material indemnification claims where an unfavorable outcome was probable or reasonably possible. Historically, claims that have been made under the indemnification agreements have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations; however, to the extent that valid indemnification claims arise in the future, future payments by us could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations in a particular period.