Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 8: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

From time to time, we are named as a defendant in legal actions incidental to our ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the resolution of these claims will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We maintain liability insurance coverage to assist in protecting our assets from losses arising from or related to activities associated with business operations.

On December 27, 2011, Nancy Hoffman, Mark Hoffman, and Karen Hoffman (collectively, the “plaintiffs”) filed a sixth amended complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois naming JT Ryerson and three other entities as defendants (collectively, the “defendants”) in a lawsuit (Nancy Hoffman, et.al. v. Dorlan Crane, et.al.) . That complaint asserted negligence and loss of consortium counts against the defendants for personal injuries allegedly suffered by plaintiffs resulting from a motor vehicle accident. On February 10, 2012, a jury returned a verdict against the defendants and awarded damages totaling $27.7 million for which the defendants are purportedly jointly and severally liable. Defendants have filed a post-trial motion seeking, among other things, judgment notwithstanding the jury’s verdict or a new trial on liability and damages. A basis for that motion is our belief that the jury erred in its determination that three of the defendants were engaged in a joint venture.  It is our position that each party at all times was operating independently and at no time was a joint venture ever formed. That motion is fully briefed and pending before the court. In consultation with its insurance carriers, JT Ryerson intends to vigorously contest the verdict and is evaluating all of its alternatives, including a possible appeal of the jury’s verdict to the Illinois Appellate Court. At this time, the Company cannot predict the likely outcome of this matter or estimate a range of potential loss, if any.

In October 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency named us as one of more than 100 businesses that may be a potentially responsible party for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (“Portland Harbor”). We do not currently have sufficient information available to us to determine the total cost of any required investigation or remediation of the Portland Harbor site. Management cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this matter or estimate a range of potential loss at this time.