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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Certain conditions may exist as of the date the financial statements are issued, which may result in a loss to the Company, which will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. Team’s management and its legal counsel assess such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise of judgment. In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against us or unasserted claims that may result in such proceedings, Team’s legal counsel evaluates the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or unasserted claims as well as the perceived merits of the amount of relief sought or expected to be sought therein.
If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a material loss has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be estimated, then the estimated liability would be accrued in our financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable, but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, would be disclosed.
Loss contingencies considered remote are generally not disclosed unless they involve guarantees, in which case the nature of the guarantee would be disclosed.
We accrue for contingencies where the occurrence of a material loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated, based on our best estimate of the expected liability. We may increase or decrease our legal accruals in the future, on a matter-by-matter basis, to account for developments in such matter. Because such matters are inherently unpredictable and unfavorable developments or outcomes can occur, assessing contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgments about future events. Notwithstanding the uncertainty as to the outcome and while our insurance coverage might not be available or adequate to cover these claims, based upon the information currently available, we do not believe that any uninsured losses that might arise from these lawsuits and proceedings will have a materially adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements.
California Wage and Hour Litigation - The Company was a defendant in a consolidated class and collective action, Michael Thai v. Team Industrial Services, Inc., et al, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, originally filed by two separate plaintiffs as separate cases in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, California in June 2019 and August 2020, respectively. The Company settled the consolidated class and collective action in 2022 that resulted in the Company recording a pre-tax charge of $3.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, and the Company paid the settlement in January 2023.
Notice of Potential Environmental Violation - On April 20, 2021, Team Industrial Services, Inc. received Notices of Potential Violation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging noncompliance with various waste determination, reporting, training, and planning obligations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at seven of our facilities located in Texas and Louisiana. The allegations largely relate to spent film developing solutions generated through our mobile radiographic inspection services and that the claims relate to the characterization and quantities of those wastes and related notices, reporting, training, and planning.
On February 9, 2022, TEAM and the EPA agreed to settle all the claims related to this matter and the formal settlement agreement was finalized in April 2022 with our agreement to pay penalties totaling $0.2 million.
Kelli Most Litigation - On November 13, 2018, Kelli Most filed a lawsuit against Team Industrial Services, Inc., individually and as a personal representative of the estate of Jesse Henson, in the 268th District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas (the “Most litigation”). The complaint asserted claims against Team for negligence resulting in the wrongful death of Jesse Henson. A jury trial commenced on this matter on May 4, 2021. On June 1, 2021, the jury rendered a verdict against Team for $222.0 million in compensatory damages.
We believe that the jury verdict is not supported by the facts of the case or applicable law, is the result of significant trial error, and there are strong grounds for appeal. We will seek to overturn the verdict in post-trial motions before the District Court and, if necessary, to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the State of Texas.
On January 25, 2022, the trial court signed a final judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against Team Industrial Services, Inc. Post-judgment motions challenging the judgment were filed on February 24, 2022 and were denied by the court on April 22, 2022. A notice of appeal was filed on April 25, 2022, and this case is currently pending in the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas, in Houston.
We believe that the likelihood that the amount of the judgment will be affirmed is not probable. We have taken into consideration the events that have occurred after the reporting period and before the financial statements were issued. We currently estimate a range of possible outcomes between $13.0 million and approximately $51.0 million, and we have accrued a liability as of December 31, 2022 which is the amount we believe is the most likely estimate for a probable loss on this matter. We have also recorded a related receivable from our third-party insurance providers in other current assets with the corresponding liability of the same amount in other accrued liabilities. Such amounts are treated as non-cash operating
activities. The Most litigation is covered by our general liability and excess insurance policies which are occurrence based and subject to an aggregate $3.0 million self-insured retention and deductible. All retentions and deductibles have been met, accordingly, we believe pending the final settlement, all further claims will be fully funded by our insurance policies. We will continue to evaluate the possible outcomes of this case in light of future developments and their potential impact on factors relevant to our assessment of any possible loss.
Accordingly, for all matters discussed above, we have accrued in the aggregate approximately $42.3 million as of December 31, 2022, of which approximately $3.3 million is not covered by our various insurance policies.
In addition to legal matters discussed above, we are subject to various lawsuits, claims and proceedings encountered in the normal conduct of business (“Other Proceedings”). Management believes that based on its current knowledge and after consultation with legal counsel that the Other Proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.