Note 13 - Contingencies

3 Months Ended

May 27, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

1

3

.

CONTINGENCIES

Litigation

 

The Company is subject to a number of proceedings, lawsuits and other claims related to environmental, employment, product and other matters. The Company is required to assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes in these matters as well as potential ranges of probable losses. A determination of the amount of reserves required, if any, for these contingencies is made after careful analysis of each individual issue. The required reserves

may

change in the future due to new developments in each matter or changes in approach, such as a change in settlement strategy in dealing with these matters. The Company believes that the ultimate disposition of such proceedings, lawsuits and claims will

not

have a material adverse effect on the liquidity, capital resources, business, consolidated results of operations or financial position of the Company. In the

first

quarter of the

2018

fiscal year, the Company recorded a

one

-time litigation expense of

$375

for the settlement of an employment litigation.

Environmental Contingencies

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries have been named by the Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) or a comparable state agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (the “Superfund Act”) or similar state law as potentially responsible parties in connection with alleged releases of hazardous substances at

three

sites.

Under the Superfund Act and similar state laws, all parties who

may

have contributed any waste to a hazardous waste disposal site or contaminated area identified by the EPA or comparable state agency

may

be jointly and severally liable for the cost of cleanup. Generally, these sites are locations at which numerous persons disposed of hazardous waste. In the case of the Company’s subsidiaries, generally the waste was removed from their manufacturing facilities and disposed at waste sites by various companies which contracted with the subsidiaries to provide waste disposal services. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have been accused of or charged with any wrongdoing or illegal acts in connection with any such sites. The Company believes it maintains an effective and comprehensive environmental compliance program.

The insurance carriers which provided general liability insurance coverage to the Company and its subsidiaries for the years during which the Company’s subsidiaries’ waste was disposed at these sites have in the past reimbursed the Company and its subsidiaries for

100%

of their legal defense and remediation costs associated with

two

of these sites.

The total costs incurred by the Company and its subsidiaries in connection with these sites, including legal fees incurred by the Company and its subsidiaries and their assessed share of remediation costs and excluding amounts expected to be reimbursed by insurance carriers, were approximately

$1

and

$1

during the

13

weeks ended

May 27, 2018

and

May 28, 2017,

respectively. The Company had

no

recorded liabilities for environmental matters

at

May 27, 2018

and

May 28, 2017.

The Company does

not

record environmental liabilities and related legal expenses for which the Company believes that it and its subsidiaries have general liability insurance coverage for the years during which the Company’s subsidiaries’ waste was disposed at

two

sites for which certain subsidiaries of the Company have been named as potentially responsible parties. Pursuant to such general liability insurance coverage,

three

insurance carriers reimburse the Company and its subsidiaries for

100%

of the legal defense and remediation costs associated with the

two

sites.

Included in selling, general and administrative expenses are charges for actual expenditures and accruals, based on estimates, for certain environmental matters described above. The Company accrues estimated costs associated with known environmental matters, when such costs can be reasonably estimated and when the outcome appears probable. The Company believes that the ultimate disposition of known environmental matters will

not

have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial position.