Legal Proceedings	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Legal Proceedings
Legal Proceedings	Note 8 – Legal Proceedings There have been no material changes from the legal proceedings disclosed in Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 except for developments related to the derivative suit and the customer claim described below. Shareholder Derivative Suit In August 2010, a shareholder derivative action was filed in the Superior Court for San Diego County, California, allegedly on behalf of and for the benefit of the Company, against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors alleging, among other claims, breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment. The complaint was titled Lozides v. Schramm et al. and alleged that the individual defendants allowed the Company to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and failed to maintain internal controls and accounting systems for compliance with the FCPA. In September 2010, Washtenaw County Employees' Retirement System v. Guyett et al., another derivative action, was filed in the same court against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors, as well as a member of the Company's management team, alleging substantially similar claims. In October 2010, the two actions were consolidated. The amended consolidated shareholder derivative complaint was filed on March 24, 2011 against certain of the Company's current and former directors and officers, as well as members of the Company's management team, bringing similar claims as the previous complaints. On May 6, 2011, the defendants filed a demurrer (motion to dismiss) for all claims asserted under the complaint. On June 23, 2011, the plaintiffs filed an opposition to this demurrer contesting the validity of the defendants' grounds for dismissal. There is a hearing scheduled for August 12, 2011, wherein the court will consider the parties' respective filings. Because the consolidated action is derivative in nature, it does not seek monetary damages from the Company. However, the Company may be required throughout the term of the action to advance the legal fees and costs incurred by the individual defendants and to incur other financial obligations. At this preliminary stage, the Company cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this action and therefore has not accrued an amount for any potential costs associated with this action. Customer Claim In 2005, a customer claimed a possible defect in a product that was produced for the Company's Swiss subsidiary, Maxwell SA, under contract by a third party manufacturer, Epcos AG, and resold to the customer. In July 2011, the Company reached an agreement in principal with the customer to settle any and all claims for consideration of 1.8 million Euro (approximately $2.6 million as of June 30, 2011), with 500,000 Euro (approximately $725,000 as of June 30, 2011) payable to the customer up front and the remaining amount of 1.3 million Euro (approximately $1.9 million as of June 30, 2011) available to the customer as a discount on future purchases of the Company's products. This agreement is not yet final, and is therefore subject to change until a written agreement between the parties is executed. The Company is continuing to pursue recovery of damages from the manufacturer of the defective product, but at this time is unable to ascertain the amount of the recovery, if any. The anticipated settlement amount of 1.8 million Euro (approximately $2.6 million as of June 30, 2011) due from the Company to the customer has been fully accrued in the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2011.

Legal Proceedings

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Note 8 – Legal Proceedings

There have been no material changes from the legal proceedings disclosed in Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 except for developments related to the derivative suit and the customer claim described below.

Shareholder Derivative Suit

In August 2010, a shareholder derivative action was filed in the Superior Court for San Diego County, California, allegedly on behalf of and for the benefit of the Company, against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors alleging, among other claims, breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment. The complaint was titled Lozides v. Schramm et al. and alleged that the individual defendants allowed the Company to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and failed to maintain internal controls and accounting systems for compliance with the FCPA. In September 2010, Washtenaw County Employees' Retirement System v. Guyett et al., another derivative action, was filed in the same court against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors, as well as a member of the Company's management team, alleging substantially similar claims. In October 2010, the two actions were consolidated. The amended consolidated shareholder derivative complaint was filed on March 24, 2011 against certain of the Company's current and former directors and officers, as well as members of the Company's management team, bringing similar claims as the previous complaints. On May 6, 2011, the defendants filed a demurrer (motion to dismiss) for all claims asserted under the complaint. On June 23, 2011, the plaintiffs filed an opposition to this demurrer contesting the validity of the defendants' grounds for dismissal. There is a hearing scheduled for August 12, 2011, wherein the court will consider the parties' respective filings. Because the consolidated action is derivative in nature, it does not seek monetary damages from the Company. However, the Company may be required throughout the term of the action to advance the legal fees and costs incurred by the individual defendants and to incur other financial obligations. At this preliminary stage, the Company cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this action and therefore has not accrued an amount for any potential costs associated with this action.

Customer Claim

In 2005, a customer claimed a possible defect in a product that was produced for the Company's Swiss subsidiary, Maxwell SA, under contract by a third party manufacturer, Epcos AG, and resold to the customer. In July 2011, the Company reached an agreement in principal with the customer to settle any and all claims for consideration of 1.8 million Euro (approximately $2.6 million as of June 30, 2011), with 500,000 Euro (approximately $725,000 as of June 30, 2011) payable to the customer up front and the remaining amount of 1.3 million Euro (approximately $1.9 million as of June 30, 2011) available to the customer as a discount on future purchases of the Company's products. This agreement is not yet final, and is therefore subject to change until a written agreement between the parties is executed. The Company is continuing to pursue recovery of damages from the manufacturer of the defective product, but at this time is unable to ascertain the amount of the recovery, if any. The anticipated settlement amount of 1.8 million Euro (approximately $2.6 million as of June 30, 2011) due from the Company to the customer has been fully accrued in the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2011.