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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Contingencies
The legal matters discussed below and others could result in losses, including damages, fines, civil penalties and criminal charges, which could be substantial. The Company records accruals for these contingencies to the extent the Company concludes that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. Regarding the matters disclosed below, unless otherwise disclosed, the Company has determined that liabilities associated with these legal matters are reasonably possible; however, unless otherwise stated, the possible loss or range of possible loss cannot be reasonably estimated. Given the nature of the litigation and investigations and the complexities involved, the Company is unable to reasonably estimate a possible loss for all such matters until the Company knows, among other factors, the following:
what claims, if any, will survive dispositive motion practice;
the extent of the claims, particularly when damages are not specified or are indeterminate;
how the discovery process will affect the litigation;
the settlement posture of the other parties to the litigation; and
any other factors that may have a material effect on the litigation or investigation.
However, the Company could incur judgments, enter into settlements or revise its expectations regarding the outcome of certain matters, and such developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations in the period in which the amounts are accrued and/or liquidity in the period in which the amounts are paid.
Securities and Exchange Commission and United States Attorney’s Office (“USAO”) for the Northern District of Illinois Investigations
In September 2020, the Company entered into agreements with the SEC and the USAO to resolve the investigations into the Company’s past revenue recognition practices. Under the settled administrative order with the SEC, the Company committed to remediate the deficiencies in its internal control over financial reporting that constituted material weaknesses identified in its 2017 Form 10-K filed in May 2019 by April 30, 2021 unless an extension was provided by the SEC. On April 12, 2021, the SEC granted the Company’s request for an extension of time until March 31, 2022 in which to comply with the requirements of the administrative order to remediate the remaining outstanding material weaknesses. In April 2022, the SEC granted a further extension of time until March 31, 2023 to fully comply with the administrative order. In May 2023, the Company submitted
documentation to the SEC for its review to assess the Company’s compliance with the administrative order. In July 2023, the Company was notified by the SEC that no additional information was required with respect to the administrative order.
Jerome Treadwell v. the Company     
In October 2018, a punitive class-action complaint was filed against the Company and NOVAtime Technology, Inc. (“NOVAtime” or “Plaintiff”) in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. In December 2018, NOVAtime removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (the “Court”) under the Class Action Fairness Act. Plaintiff has since voluntarily dismissed NOVAtime from the lawsuit without prejudice and filed an amended complaint in April 2019. The operative, amended complaint asserts violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in connection with employees’ use of the time clock to clock in and clock out using a finger scan and seeks statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive and equitable relief. An aggrieved party under BIPA may recover (i) $1,000 per violation if the Company is found to have negligently violated BIPA or (ii) $5,000 per violation if the Company is found to have intentionally or recklessly violated BIPA plus reasonable attorneys’ fees. In May 2019, the Company filed its motion to dismiss the Plaintiff’s amended complaint. In December 2019, the court denied the Company’s motion to dismiss. In January 2020, the Company moved for reconsideration of the Court’s order denying the motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, to stay the case pending the Illinois Appellate Court’s ruling in McDonald v. Symphony Healthcare on a legal question that would be potentially dispositive in this matter. In February 2020, the Court denied the Company’s motion for reconsideration, but required the parties to submit additional briefing on the Company’s motion to stay. In April 2020, the Court granted the Company’s motion to stay and stayed the case pending the Illinois Appellate Court’s ruling in McDonald v. Symphony Healthcare. In October 2020, after the McDonald ruling, the Court granted the parties’ joint request to continue the stay of the case for 60 days. The Court also ordered the parties to schedule a settlement conference with the Magistrate Judge in May 2021 which went forward without a settlement being reached. On May 22, 2023, the Company filed the answer to the amended complaint. Plaintiff and PSI have since reached a preliminary settlement of the case, and Plaintiff filed an Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement on February 23, 2024, which is currently pending with the Court. As of both September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had recorded an estimated liability of $2.4 million, recorded within Other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet related to the potential settlement of this matter.   
Mast Powertrain v. the Company
In February 2020, the Company received a demand for arbitration from Mast Powertrain, LLC (“Mast”) pursuant to a development agreement entered into in November 2011 (the “Development Agreement”). Mast claimed that it was owed more than $9.0 million in past royalties and other damages for products sold by the Company pursuant to the Development Agreement. The Company disputed Mast’s damages, denied that any royalties are owed to Mast, denied any liability, and counterclaimed for overpayment on invoices paid to Mast. Mast subsequently clarified its claim for past royalties owed to be approximately $4.5 million. In July 2021, the Company reached a settlement with Mast to resolve past claims for royalties owed for $1.5 million which the Company had previously recorded within Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year-ended December 31, 2020. The Company fully paid the settlement and had no recognized liability as of both September 30, 2024 and 2023. In September 2023, Mast filed a lawsuit against the Company in the Eastern District of Texas Federal Court (“Court”), alleging, among other things, damages of approximately $6.0 million for fraudulent inducement leading to the 2021 arbitration settlement agreement and breach of said settlement agreement. Upon court order, the Company participated in mediation in May 2024, and no settlement was reached. The Company has filed a motion to stay the lawsuit and compel it to arbitration, and that motion is currently pending. In the interim, the court ordered the parties to participate in a second mediation by the end of November 2024. As of both September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had recorded an estimated liability of $0.9 million, recorded within Other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet related to the potential settlement of this matter.        
Gary Winemaster v. The Company
In August 2021, the Company’s former Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer and President, Gary Winemaster (“Winemaster”) filed suit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against the Company and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America (“Travelers”) alleging the Company’s breach of its advancement obligations under Winemaster’s indemnification agreement and Travelers’ breach of the side A policy between Traveler’s and the Company of which Winemaster is a beneficiary. In his complaint, Winemaster was seeking reimbursement under his indemnification agreement in excess of $7.2 million of attorney’s fees plus interest incurred by Winemaster in his defense of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) case, U.S. v. Winemaster et al. Since the filing of the complaint, the Company estimates that Travelers has paid approximately $8.8 million to Winemaster’s attorneys, Latham and Watkins, under the Company’s side A policy to settle existing outstanding attorney’s fees. Travelers is seeking reimbursement from the Company for those advances pursuant to the terms of the side A policy. In October 2021, the Company and Winemaster entered into a Stipulation and Advancement Order to handle all future attorney’s fees relating to his DOJ and SEC cases, to the extent not reimbursed by Travelers under the side A policy. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $8.8 million accrued for the reimbursement to Travelers recorded within Accounts payable on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. In June 2024, the Company reached a settlement with
Travelers for $4.5 million, resulting in a $4.3 million gain that was recorded within Selling, General and Administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Income. As of September 30, 2024, the Company recorded the aforementioned settlement liability within Other noncurrent liabilities with the current portion within Other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Refer to Note 7. Other Non-current Liabilities for additional information related to this settlement.
Jeffrey Ehlers and Rick Lulloff Litigation
In September 2021, Jeffrey Ehlers (“Ehlers”) and Rick Lulloff (“Lulloff”), former employees of the Company, made demand against the Company for approximately $2.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively, for alleged wages due and owing under each employee’s employment contract related to “Incentive Bonuses” for revenues generated in the Company’s transportation end market. In November 2021, Ehlers and Lulloff separately filed complaints against the Company in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, alleging breach of contract and violations of the Illinois Wage and Payment Collection Act incorporating their claims in the above referenced demand letter. The Company filed a notice of removal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois and has also moved to consolidate the cases, which has been granted by the Court. In December 2022, the Company reached a settlement with both Ehlers and Lulloff, for $0.8 million and $0.5 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, the Company paid the settlement in full to both Ehlers and Lulloff.
Indemnification Agreements
The Company holds a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy, which is renewed annually and expires in July 2025. The insurance policy includes standard exclusions including for any ongoing or pending litigation such as the previously disclosed investigations by the SEC and USAO.
Other Commitments and Contingencies
At September 30, 2024, the Company had four outstanding letters of credit totaling $1.4 million. The letters of credit primarily serve as collateral for the Company for certain facility leases and insurance policies. As discussed in Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Other Information, the Company had restricted cash of $3.2 million as of September 30, 2024, related to these letters of credit and cash held in escrow due to a customer agreement.