Note 25 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

(a) Legal proceedings:

CMC Industries

In April 2018, TRT, an indirect subsidiary of Kingsway, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York relating to CMC and its subsidiaries.  Kingsway indirectly, through its indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary, CMC Acquisition, LLC ("CMCA"), owns 81% of CMC.  TRT  (an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of CMC) entered into a Management Services Agreement (the "MSA") with DGI-BNSF Corp. ("DGI") (an affiliate of CRIC TRT Acquisition, LLC ("CRIC"), the entity that owns the remaining 19% of CMC) in July 2016 pursuant to which, among other things, DGI agreed to provide services to TRT in exchange for the fees specified in the MSA.  The complaint filed by DGI alleged that DGI was owed certain fees under the MSA that had not been paid.

In March 2021, DGI, TRT and various other entities affiliated with each of them entered into a settlement agreement with respect to such litigation and certain other matters ("CMC Settlement Agreement"). Pursuant to the CMC Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed that proceeds from increased rental payments due to an earlier amendment to the lease of the Real Property (or any borrowings against such increased rental payments) would be split 80% to DGI as a management fee under the MSA and 20% to CMCA as a priority distribution on its ownership of CMC, after CMCA received a priority payment of $1.5 million. The parties also agreed that net proceeds from an eventual sale or renewal of the lease of the Real Property (after repayment of outstanding indebtedness and various other fees and expenses) would be split as follows:

(a) if such net proceeds are equal to or greater than $72 million, (i) CMCA would receive the first $40 million as a distribution of a preferred return on its ownership of CMC, (ii) CRIC would receive the next $9.4 million as a distribution on its ownership of CMC, (iii) DGI would receive the next $30.6 million as a management fee under the MSA, and (iv) the remainder of such net proceeds (if any) would be split 48.6% to CMCA as a distribution in respect of its ownership of CMC, 40% to DGI in the form of a management fee under the MSA, and 11.4% to CRIC s a distributions in respect of its ownership of CMC; or

(b) if such net proceeds are less than $72 million, (i) 55% to CMCA as a distribution of a preferred return on its ownership of CMC, (ii) 12.9% to CRIC as a distribution on its ownership of CMC, and (iii) 32.1% to DGI in the form of a management fee to DGI under the MSA. In connection with the CMC Settlement Agreement, the Company recorded a liability of $2.6 million for the 80% management fee due to DGI at December 31, 2020, which is included in general and administrative expenses in its consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020.  

On June 2, 2021, TRT borrowed $15.0 million under the Additional Mortgage. The Company distributed $10.6 million to DGI during the second quarter of 2021 as a prepaid management fee, representing 80% of the net proceeds from the Additional Mortgage, and $2.7 million (20%) to CMCA as a priority distribution on its ownership of CMC.

Aegis

In May 2016, Aegis Security Insurance Company ("Aegis") filed a complaint for breach of contract and declaratory relief against the Company in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging, among other things, that the Company breached a contractual obligation to indemnify Aegis for certain customs bond losses incurred by Aegis under the indemnity and hold harmless agreements provided by the Company to Aegis for certain customs bonds reinsured by Lincoln General Insurance Company ("Lincoln General") during the period of time that Lincoln General was a subsidiary of the Company.  Lincoln General was placed into liquidation in November 2015 and Aegis subsequently invoked its rights to indemnity under the indemnity and hold harmless agreements. Effective January 20, 2020, Aegis and the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement with respect to such litigation pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay Aegis a one-time settlement amount of $0.9 million, which the Company reported in its consolidated statement of operations during the first quarter of 2020, and to reimburse Aegis for 60% of future losses that Aegis may sustain in connection with such customs bonds, up to a maximum reimbursement amount of $4.8 million. During the third and fourth quarters of 2020, the Company made reimbursement payments to Aegis of $0.5 million in connection with the Settlement Agreement. The Company reported the payments to Aegis in general and administrative expenses in its consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020.   During the third quarter of 2021, the Company made a reimbursement payment to Aegis of $0.1 million in connection with the Settlement Agreement, which is included in general and administrative expenses in its consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company’s potential exposure under these agreements was not reasonably determinable at December 31, 2021, and no liability has been recorded in the in the consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2021.

(b) Guarantees:

Mendota

As part of the October 18, 2018 transaction to sell Mendota Insurance Company, Mendakota Insurance Company and Mendakota Casualty Company (collectively "Mendota"), the Company will indemnify the buyer for any loss and loss adjustment expenses with respect to open claims in excess of Mendota's carried unpaid loss and loss adjustment expenses at June 30, 2018 related to the open claims. The maximum obligation to the Company with respect to the open claims is $2.5 million. Per the purchase agreement, a security interest on the Company’s equity interest in its consolidated subsidiary, Net Lease, as well as any distributions to the Company from Net Lease, was to be collateral for the Company’s payment of obligations with respect to the open claims. During the third quarter of 2021, the purchasers of Mendota and the Company agreed to release the Company's equity interest in Net Lease as collateral and allow Net Lease to make distributions to the Company.  In exchange, the Company agreed to deposit $2.0 million into an escrow account and advance $0.5 million to the purchaser of Mendota to satisfy the Company's payment obligation with respect to the open claims.  There were no payments made related to the open claims during the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The Company's potential exposure under these agreements was not reasonably determinable at December 31, 2021, and no liability has been recorded in the consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2021.

CMC Industries

In conjunction with the Additional Mortgage, TRT paid a guarantee fee of $1.1 million to a third-party during the second quarter of 2021, who is serving as a guarantor or indemnitor with respect to certain obligations between TRT and the holder of the Additional Mortgage.  The guarantee fee was recorded as a debt issuance cost related to the Additional Mortgage. 

RoeCo

The LA Mortgage is nonrecourse indebtedness with respect to the assets of RoeCo, and the LA Mortgage is not, nor will it be, guaranteed by Kingsway or its affiliates unless RoeCo acts in bad-faith or commits intentional acts with respect to the LA Mortgage.  The LA Mortgage is secured in part by a guaranty of recourse liabilities, whereby KAI, as guarantor, would become liable for the recourse liabilities if RoeCo, as borrower, violates certain terms of the loan agreement.  Under the guarantee, the lender can recover losses from the guarantor for certain bad-faith or other intentional acts of the borrower, such as rents retained by the borrower in violation of the loan documents, fraud or intentional misrepresentation, changes to the lease without the lender's consent, willful misconduct, criminal acts and environmental losses sustained by lender.  In addition, the guarantee provides that the LA Mortgage will be the full personal recourse obligation of the guarantor, for certain actions, such as prohibited transfers of the collateral or bankruptcy of the borrower. 

(c) Collateral pledged and restricted cash:

Short-term investments with an estimated fair value of $0.2 million at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, were on deposit with state regulatory authorities.

The Company also has restricted cash of $17.3 million and $30.6 million at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. Included in restricted cash are:

• $12.6 million and $27.7 million at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, held as deposits by IWS, Geminus, PWI, PWSC and Ravix.  PWI, which was acquired by the Company in December 2020, began investing a substantial portion of its restricted cash during 2021;

• $1.9 million at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, on deposit with state regulatory authorities; and

• $2.8 million and $1.0 million at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, pledged to third-parties as deposits or to collateralize liabilities. Collateral pledging transactions are conducted under terms that are common and customary to standard collateral pledging and are subject to the Company's standard risk management controls.