Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 26, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Contingencies

The Company assesses its exposure related to legal matters, including those pertaining to product liability, safety and health matters and other items that arise in the regular course of its business. If the Company determines that it is probable a loss has been incurred, the amount of the loss, or an amount within the range of loss, that can be reasonably estimated will be recorded.

Environmental Remediation

The Company accrues for losses associated with environmental remediation obligations when such losses are probable and estimable. Remediation obligations are accrued based on the latest available information and are recorded at undiscounted amounts. The Company regularly monitors the progress of environmental remediation. If studies indicate that the cost of remediation has changed from the previous estimate, an adjustment to the liability would be recorded in the period in which such determination is made.

Legal Proceedings

We have been sued, together with 3M Company and approximately 30 other named defendants and unnamed "fictitious defendants" including various carpet manufacturers and suppliers, in four lawsuits whereby the plaintiffs seek monetary damages and injunctive relief related to the manufacture, supply, and/or use of certain chemical products in the manufacture, finishing, and treatment of carpet products in the Dalton, Georgia area. These chemical products allegedly include without limitation perflourinated compounds ("PFC") such as perflourinated acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctane sulfonate ("PFOS"). In each lawsuit, the plaintiff(s) alleged that, as a consequence of these actions, these chemical compounds have discharged or leached into the water systems around Dalton and then flow into the waters in or near the water bodies from which the plaintiff(s) draw for drinking water.

Two of these lawsuits were filed in Alabama. The first lawsuit in Alabama was filed on September 22, 2016 by The Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Gadsden (Alabama) in the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama (styled The Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Gadsden v. 3M Company, et al., Civil Action No. 31-CV-2016-900676.00). The second lawsuit in Alabama was filed on May 15, 2017 by The Water Works and Sewer Board of the Town of Centre (Alabama) in the Circuit Court of Cherokee County, Alabama (styled The Water Works and Sewer Board of the Town of Centre v. 3M Company, et al., Civil Action No. 13-CV- 2017-900049.00). These lawsuits have been settled upon payment to the plaintiff of a sum deemed to be immaterial. Both lawsuits have been dismissed.

The other two lawsuits were filed in Georgia. The first lawsuit in Georgia was filed on November 19, 2019 by the City of Rome (Georgia) in the Superior Court of Floyd County, Georgia (styled The City of Rome, Georgia v. 3M Company, et al., No. 19CV02405JFL003). The second lawsuit in Georgia was originally filed on November 26, 2019 and is presented as a class action lawsuit by and on behalf of a class of persons who obtain drinking water from the City of Rome, Georgia and the Floyd County Water Department (and similarly situated persons) (generally, for these purposes, residents of Floyd County) (styled Jarrod Johnson v. 3M Company, et al., Civil Action No. 19-CV-02448-JFL-003) (the "Class Action Lawsuit"). On January 10, 2020, the Class Action Lawsuit was removed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division (styled Jarrod Johnson v. 3M Company, et al Civil Action No. 4:20-CV-0008-AT). We agreed to settle and obtain dismissal of these lawsuits. A payment for settlement was made after the end of the first quarter of 2022 to the plaintiff in the City of Rome matter. We deem the sum of the settlement to be immaterial to the Company.

The two lawsuits filed in Alabama were settled and dismissed prior to year-end. The two pending lawsuits in Georgia were dismissed following the end of the first quarter; the Class Action Lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff on April 13 (without prejudice) and the City of Rome lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice on May 2, 2022.

The Company has been sued, together with approximately 90 other defendants, in a lawsuit styled: Brenda E. Bostian, individually and as representative of the Estate of Hoyle Steven Bostian, deceased, case number 2021-CP-40-04877 South Carolina Court of Common Please, fifth Judicial Circuit- Richland County (Columbia SC), alleging that indirect exposure to asbestos at a plant in North Carolina contributed to the wrongful death of Mr. Bostian. The complaint alleges that Mr. Hoyle Bostian’s father worked at a facility in North Carolina where he was exposed to asbestos and that Mr. Bostian’s exposure indirectly caused Mr. Bostian (the decedent) to be exposed to asbestos. The plaintiff’s “secondary” exposure allegedly occurred in the 1950s - prior to the Company’s 1987 acquisition of China Grove Cotton Mills, the company that owned the facility. No damage amount has been alleged. The Company has denied liability and is vigorously defending the matter.