24.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitments

In the U.S., the Company leases office, warehousing and manufacturing facilities under several operating lease agreements expiring at various dates through fiscal year 2026 with a right to renew for an additional term in the case of most of the leases. Certain of these leases contain escalation clauses. Outside the U.S., the Company leases foreign office and warehouse facilities under operating lease agreements expiring at various dates through fiscal year 2022. The total leasing expense for the Company was $5.8 million in fiscal year 2016, $5.5 million in fiscal year 2015, and $5.5 million in fiscal year 2014 periods.

The following is a schedule of the approximate future annual lease payments under all operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms as of May 31, 2016 (in thousands):

Year ended May 31:
2017	$	5,610
2018		4,291
2019		3,543
2020		2,594
2021		2,468
Thereafter		8,584
Total	$	27,090

Purchase Commitments

Purchase commitments made in the normal course of business were $44.1 million as of May 31, 2016

These purchases were primarily for inventory items. The following is a schedule of the approximate future payments for purchase commitments as of May 31, 2016 (in thousands):

Year ended May 31:
2017	$	20,400
2018		8,760
2019		8,086
2020		4,308
2021		2,576
Thereafter		-
Total	$	44,130

Legal Proceedings

Immucor and BioArray Solutions Limited (“BioArray”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Immucor, are defendants in an action brought in August 2014 by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (“Rutgers”), in the Superior Court of New Jersey for Middlesex County, alleging breach of contract and fraud claims under a patent license between Rutgers and BioArray. The Company believes the claims are without merit and that it has meritorious defenses. The Company believes that liability is unlikely and that the amount of any liability is not currently reasonably estimable. Further, the Company believes that any potential liability would not be material to the Company’s operations or to its financial condition.

From time to time the Company is a party to certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. However, the Company is not currently subject to any legal proceedings expected to have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position, result of operations or cash flow.

Self-Insurance Costs

In fiscal year 2014, the Company entered into a program to self-insure its costs related to U.S. medical employee benefits. Liabilities are recognized based on claims filed and an estimate of claims incurred but not reported. The liabilities for medical claims are accounted for on an undiscounted basis. The Company has purchased stop-loss coverage to limit its exposure on a per claim and on an aggregate basis. The Company is insured for covered costs in excess of these per claim limits. As of May 31, 2016 and May 31, 2015, the self-insured liability was approximately $1.3 million and $1.2 million, respectively, and was included in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

Royalty Payments

The Company is required to pay royalty payments on the sales of specific products. These royalty payments are based on the net selling price of the specific products and are mainly calculated at fixed percentages. On certain products, a minimum annual royalty fee is applicable. In total, the Company incurred costs of $4.8 million, $4.6 million and $4.2 million related to royalty fees in fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of May 31, 2016, the Company had a minimum royalty payment obligation of approximately $12.5 million. The following is a schedule of the approximate future payments for royalty payment commitments as of May 31, 2016 (in thousands):

Year ended May 31:
2017	$	2,616
2018		2,666
2019		2,716
2020		2,786
2021		1,698
Thereafter		5
Total	$	12,487