Commitments And Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2012

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

NOTE L - Commitments and Contingencies
The Company was named as one of approximately ninety defendants in a contribution suit brought by CCL/Unilever relating to the J.M. Mills Landfill Site (the “Site”), which is part of the Peterson/Puritan Superfund Site in Cumberland, Rhode Island.  These complaints alleged that the Company was liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA") for contribution for Site investigation costs.  The Company has reached settlement of the case and paid a settlement amount of approximately $0.2 million in 2010.

The Company expects that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") will select a remedy for the Site in 2012.  At that time, the EPA will initiate an administrative process (the "Special Notice Process") pursuant to CERCLA whereby the EPA will request that those entities that the EPA contends arranged for the disposal of hazardous materials at the Site (the PRPs), undertake the selected remedy at the Site.  The EPA contends that the Company is a PRP at the Site.  During the Special Notice Process, the Company and the other PRPs will engage in negotiations with the EPA regarding the remedy, and among themselves regarding the contribution of each PRP to overall remediation costs.  Neither the cost of the remedy nor the identity of all PRPs is known at this time.  Therefore it is not possible to assess the outcome of the Special Notice Process as it may relate to the Company's contribution to remediation costs.

In 2011, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) had asserted that it believed the Company had a triggering event under Section 4062(e) of ERISA, which, had such an event occurred, could have led to an acceleration of funding contributions to the Company’s defined benefit plan.  Specifically, during 2010, the PBGC asserted that the Company closed a facility in the USA when it completed the transfer of a significant portion of its manufacturing operations offshore.  The Company maintains that the facility did not close, and therefore no triggering event occurred.  In the third quarter of 2012, the Company received written notice from the PBGC that it will take no further action with respect to this matter.  The Company believes that it has sufficient liquidity to meet any required contributions to the Plan, and in fact, has made additional voluntary contributions of $4 million to the plan since October 2011.

The Company is involved in various other litigation and legal matters that have arisen in the ordinary course of business.  To its knowledge, management believes that the ultimate resolution of any of those existing matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position or results of operations.