COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Company leases certain facilities and equipment under various non-cancelable operating lease agreements that expire at various dates through 2025. At December 31, 2015, the future minimum lease payments under operating leases with initial non-cancelable terms in excess of one year are as follows:



2016	$	7,654
2017	6,842
2018	6,510
2019	5,188
2020	4,186
Thereafter	14,787
	$	45,167

Rent expense totaled $7,753, $8,396 and $8,501 in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The Company has entered into employment agreements with certain members of senior management, the terms of which expire on January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, as applicable. The terms of these agreements are up to 3 years, include non-compete and non-disclosure provisions, and provide for defined severance payments in the event of termination.

Legal Contingencies

The Company has been named as a defendant in certain pending lawsuits in the normal course of business (the “Pending Lawsuits”). The Company was also the subject of the various proceedings that were resolved in 2015, as described below. Management discloses the amount or range of reasonably possible losses from any legal proceedings.

In the opinion of management, after consulting with legal counsel, the losses, if any, resulting from the Pending Lawsuits is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In November, 2013, the Attorney General of the State of Missouri (the “Missouri AG”) contacted LMI regarding allegations of violations of certain state environmental regulations involving the discharge of pollutants and water contaminants claimed to have occurred in 2011 by Ozark Mountain Technologies ("OMT"), a subsidiary of LMI, (the “Missouri AG Matter”). On February 25, 2015, the Missouri AG filed a Petition against OMT alleging pollution of state waters, violation of pretreatment regulations and violation of water quality standards. In the quarter ended June 30, 2015, OMT settled the Missouri AG Matter and in July of 2015 paid civil penalties of $175.

In August 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the U.S. Dept. of Justice (“DoJ”) commenced an investigation into allegations of low pH wastewater releases claimed to have occurred between 2009 and 2013 at OMT’s facility (the “Waste Water Allegations”). On April 24, 2015, the Company settled the Waste Water Allegations pursuant to a settlement agreement with DoJ ("Plea Agreement"). Per the terms of the Plea Agreement, OMT plead guilty to one count of negligently violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and paid a fine of $694 in the quarter ended June 30, 2015. In connection with the Plea Agreement, DoJ agreed that no further federal criminal or civil prosecution will be brought against OMT relative to certain other possible instances of environmental non-compliance that the Company voluntarily reported to the EPA in December 2013 as part of the EPA’s Audit Policy.

The fine and civil penalties paid in connection with both settlements described above equal to the loss contingencies recorded by the Company at December 31, 2014.

In December 2012, OMT became an indirect subsidiary of LMI as a result of LMI’s acquisition of Valent from the former equity owners of Valent, including Tech Investments, LLC and Tech Investments II, LLC (together, “Tech”). Also as a result of the transaction, Tech became the beneficial owners of approximately 5.5% of LMI’s common stock. Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, as amended (the “Valent Purchase Agreement”), $5,000 of the purchase price remained subject to an indemnification escrow arrangement (the “Escrow Funds”) and 783,798 shares of LMI’s common stock issued as part of the purchase price were subject to indemnification lock-up agreements (the “Locked-Up Shares”). On September 22, 2015, LMI and the former equity owners of Valent (the “Parties”) submitted to mediation and executed an agreement setting forth terms of a settlement with respect to the resolution of certain indemnification claims and other disputes involving, among other things, the OMT matters discussed above, and on November 5, 2015, the Parties executed the definitive settlement documents (the agreement and documents collectively being referred to as the “Settlement Agreements”). The claims and disputes resolved by the settlement had become the subject of legal proceedings that commenced with the filing of a declaratory action by Tech in December 2014 (the “Tech Lawsuit”). Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreements, (a) the Tech Lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice on January 12, 2016, (b) $3,109 of the Escrow Funds was disbursed to the Company and the remaining amount of Escrow Funds was retained by Tech, (c) Tech assumed an approximate $1,167 payment obligation of the Company to a predecessor owner of OMT that remained under a purchase agreement the Company acquired as part of the Company’s acquisition of Valent; (d) the Locked-up Shares were released to Tech; and (e) all parties entered into a mutual release of claims and disputes other than those based on certain environmental representations of the former equity owners of Valent under the Valent Purchase Agreement. The settlement also resulted in the Company assuming other liabilities of $500, collecting a previously recorded receivable of $389 and recording other expenses of $40. The net impact of the settlement resulted in a gain of $3,347 which is recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.