Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

There are no material changes from the commitments, contingencies and concentrations previously disclosed in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, other than disclosures associated with the adoption of FASB Topic 842, Leases as outlined below. Please see “Note 2. Significant Accounting Policies” for additional information related to the adoption of FASB Topic 842, Leases.


a)	Operating Lease Commitments

The Company leases office spaces, an executive apartment, office equipment and company vehicles under various operating leases expiring in various years through 2022. The Company did not enter into any new lease arrangements during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. The Company's leases are all currently classified as operating leases and none of them have non-lease components. For operating leases that have a lease term of more than twelve months, the Company recognized a lease liability and a right-of-use asset in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at the present value of the remaining lease payments until expiration. As the lease contracts generally do not provide an implicit discount rate, the Company used the weighted-average discount rate of 10%, representing its secured incremental borrowing rate, in calculating the present value of the lease liability. The exercise of lease renewal options is at the sole discretion of the Company and none of our current lease renewal options are deemed to be reasonably certain to be exercised. The Company has made an accounting policy election not to include renewal, termination, or purchase options that are not reasonably certain of exercise when determining the term of the borrowing. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. The Company's weighted-average remaining lease term is 3.0 years.

The Company's future lease obligations as at June 30, 2019 of approximately $2,878 was calculated based on the present value of future annual rental commitments excluding taxes, insurance and other operating costs for non-cancellable operating leases discounted using the Company's secured incremental borrowing rate. This amount has been recognized on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as a lease liability of $2,878 within accrued expenses and other liabilities with an equivalent amount for the right-of-use asset presented as part of other assets. However, under the guidance, the Company has continued to recognize the related leasing expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company's total lease expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 was $389 and $810, respectively (2018 - $516 and $1,131, respectively) which was recognized within net income consistent with the accounting treatment in prior periods under Topic 840. The operating cash outflows from operating leases included in the measurement of the lease liability during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 was $340 and $681, respectively. At June 30, 2019, the scheduled maturity of the Company's operating lease liabilities are expected to be as follows:



	June 30, 2019
Remainder of 2019	$	669
2020	1,171
2021	741
2022	741
Discount for present value	(444		)
Total discounted operating lease liabilities	$	2,878

At December 31, 2018, the Company's future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases were expected to be as follows:



	December 31, 2018
2019	$	1,442
2020	1,228
2021	772
2022	750
	$	4,192


b)	Legal Proceedings

Except as noted below, the Company is not a party to any material legal proceedings. From time to time, the Company is subject to routine legal proceedings, including arbitrations, arising in the ordinary course of business. These legal proceedings generally relate to claims asserted by or against the Company in the ordinary course of insurance or reinsurance operations. Based on the Company's opinion, the eventual outcome of these legal proceedings is not expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

10. Commitments and Contingencies (continued)

In April 2009, the Company learned that Bentzion S. Turin, the former Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Maiden Holdings and Maiden Bermuda, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor claiming that his employment with the Company was terminated in retaliation for corporate whistle-blowing in violation of the whistle-blower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Mr. Turin alleged that he was terminated for raising concerns regarding corporate governance with respect to the negotiation of the terms of the Trust Preferred Securities Offering. He seeks reinstatement as Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Maiden Holdings and Maiden Bermuda, back pay and legal fees incurred. On December 31, 2009, the U.S. Secretary of Labor found no reasonable cause for Mr. Turin’s claim and dismissed the complaint in its entirety. Mr. Turin objected to the Secretary's findings and requested a hearing before an administrative law judge in the U.S. Department of Labor. The Company moved to dismiss Mr. Turin's complaint, and its motion was granted by the Administrative Law Judge on June 30, 2011. On July 13, 2011, Mr. Turin filed a petition for review of the Administrative Law Judge's decision with the Administrative Review Board in the U.S. Department of Labor. On March 29, 2013, the Administrative Review Board reversed the dismissal of the complaint on procedural grounds, and remanded the case to the administrative law judge. The administrative hearing began in September 2014, and the hearings concluded in November 2018. The Company believes that it had good and sufficient reasons for terminating Mr. Turin's employment and that the claim is without merit. The Company will continue to vigorously defend itself against this claim.

A putative class action complaint was filed against Maiden Holdings, Arturo M. Raschbaum, Karen L. Schmitt, and John M. Marshaleck in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on February 11, 2019, alleging that Defendants violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 (and Section 20(a) for control person liability) by making misrepresentations about the Company and its business, including the Company’s risk management and underwriting policies and practices. Plaintiffs further claim that these misrepresentations inflated the price of Maiden Holdings' common stock, and that when the truth about the misrepresentations was revealed, the Company’s stock price fell, causing Plaintiffs to incur losses. Maiden has not yet been served with the complaint, but believe the claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself. There exist and the Company expects additional lawsuits to be filed against the Company, its subsidiaries and its respective officers due to the diminution in value of our securities as a result of our operating results and financial condition. It is currently uncertain as to the effect of such litigation on our business, operating results and financial conditions.