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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 12. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Asbestos personal injury liabilities — We had approximately 25,000 active pending asbestos personal injury liability claims at June 30, 2012, down slightly from the 26,000 claims at December 31, 2011. In addition, approximately 1,000 mostly inactive claims have been settled and are awaiting final documentation and dismissal, with or without payment. We have accrued $83 for indemnity and defense costs for settled, pending and future claims at June 30, 2012, compared to $89 at December 31, 2011. We use a fifteen-year time horizon for our estimate of this liability.

 

 

At June 30, 2012, we had recorded $52 as an asset for probable recovery from our insurers for the pending and projected asbestos personal injury liability claims, compared to $53 recorded at December 31, 2011. The recorded asset represents our assessment of the capacity of our current insurance agreements to provide for the payment of anticipated defense and indemnity costs for pending claims and projected future demands. The recognition of these recoveries is based on our assessment of our right to recover under the respective contracts and on the financial strength of the insurers. We have coverage agreements in place with our insurers confirming substantially all of the related coverage and payments are being received on a timely basis. The financial strength of these insurers is reviewed at least annually with the assistance of a third party. The recorded asset does not represent the limits of our insurance coverage, but rather the amount we would expect to recover if we paid the accrued indemnity and defense costs.

 

During the second quarter of 2011, we reached an agreement with an insurer to settle a long-standing claim pending in the liquidation proceedings of the insurer and recorded the estimated fair value of the recovery. As a result, other income includes a $6 credit for this recovery of past outlays related to asbestos claims.

 

Other product liabilities — We had accrued $1 for non-asbestos product liability costs at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, with no recovery expected from third parties at either date. We estimate these liabilities based on assumptions about the value of the claims and about the likelihood of recoveries against us derived from our historical experience and current information.

 

Environmental liabilities — Accrued environmental liabilities were $12 at June 30, 2012 and $13 at December 31, 2011. We consider the most probable method of remediation, current laws and regulations and existing technology in determining the fair value of our environmental liabilities. Other accounts receivable included a related recoverable from an insurer of $2 at both dates.

 

Bankruptcy claims resolution — Dana and forty of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, the Debtors) reorganized under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Chapter 11) from March 3, 2006 until emergence on January 31, 2008 (the Effective Date). On the Effective Date, we consummated the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization of Debtors and Debtors in Possession as modified (the Plan) and emerged from Chapter 11. The last of the common shares reserved for holders of allowed unsecured nonpriority claims were distributed during the third quarter of 2011. On February 16, 2012, a final decree was issued and the bankruptcy case was closed.

 

Other legal matters — We are subject to various pending or threatened legal proceedings arising out of the normal course of business or operations. In view of the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of such matters, we cannot state what the eventual outcome of these matters will be. However, based on current knowledge and after consultation with legal counsel, we believe that the liabilities that may result from these proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.