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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Corporation is a party to certain financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk such as commitments under standby letters of credit, unused portions of lines of credit, overdraft protection and commitments to fund new loans.  In accordance with GAAP, these financial instruments are not recorded in the financial statements.  The Corporation's policy is to record such instruments when funded.  These transactions involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit, interest rate and liquidity risk.  Such transactions are generally used by the Corporation to manage clients' requests for funding and other client needs.

The following table lists the contractual amounts of financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 (in thousands):
 
June 30, 2016
 
December 31, 2015
 
Fixed Rate
 
Variable Rate
 
Fixed Rate
 
Variable Rate
Commitments to make loans
$
47,782

 
$
36,138

 
$
17,167

 
$
25,251

Unused lines of credit
1,163

 
189,230

 
1,265

 
177,004

Standby letters of credit

 
14,056

 

 
14,646



On March 23, 2016, the Bank received a summons and complaint for an action brought in the State of New York Supreme Court for the County of Tompkins, regarding its lease of 202 East State Street, Ithaca, NY. The owner of the leased premises has alleged that the Bank has breached its contract and is requesting a judgment declaring that the term of the lease runs through December 31, 2025 or a judgment in his favor in the amount of $4.0 million. On July 25, 2016, the Corporation received Notice of Entry of the decision and order of the New York Supreme Court for the County of Tompkins, involving claims by the owner of the leased premises at 202 East State Street, Ithaca, New York against the Bank. The Court granted, in part, partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff - on the issue of liability only- for anticipatory breach and breach of contract. The fraud claims were dismissed, and summary judgment was denied on the plaintiff’s trespass claims. The Court set the matter down for an inquest on damages at a later date, with the original claim by the plaintiff seeking $4.0 million in damages. While the Corporation’s attorneys are assessing the merits of an appeal based on the information contained in the Court’s ruling, the Corporation established a legal reserve of $1.2 million in connection with this case as of June 30, 2016.

In the normal course of business, there are various outstanding claims and legal proceedings involving the Corporation or its subsidiaries.  Except for the above matter, we believe that we are not a party to any pending legal, arbitration, or regulatory proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on our financial results or liquidity.