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LEGAL MATTERS
6 Months Ended
Aug. 02, 2014
LEGAL MATTERS  
LEGAL MATTERS

NOTE 14LEGAL MATTERS

 

The Company is party to a Consent Decree, effective July 15, 2010, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) that, among other things, required the Company to implement a formal compliance program with respect to certain small gasoline engine merchandise sold by the Company.  In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, the EPA alleged, in writing, that the Company had violated certain inspection, testing and reporting requirements of the Consent Decree and made an aggregated stipulated penalty demand of $2.3 million as a result thereof.  During fiscal 2014, the Company made a $0.4 million payment on account of a portion of the alleged violations and invoked formal dispute resolution procedures with the EPA under the terms of the Consent Decree with respect to the balance of the violations.  The Company has accrued an amount that it believes is sufficient to resolve the remaining violations.

 

The Company is also party to various actions and claims arising in the normal course of business. The Company believes that amounts accrued for awards or assessments in connection with all such matters are adequate and that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position. However, there exists a possibility of loss in excess of the amounts accrued, the amount of which cannot currently be estimated. While the Company does not believe that the amount of such excess loss will be material to the Company’s financial position, any such loss could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations in the period(s) during which the underlying matters are resolved.