13. Contingent Liabilities and Commitments

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2014

Notes

13. Contingent Liabilities and Commitments

13.          CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND COMMITMENTS

a)            A subsidiary was a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in Portland, Oregon, entitled, Greenwood Products, Inc. et al v. Greenwood Forest Products, Inc. et al., Case No. 05-02553 (Multnomah County Circuit Court). 

During fiscal 2002 the Company entered into a purchase agreement to acquire inventory over a 15 month period with an initial estimated value of $7,000,000 from Greenwood Forest Products, Inc.  During the year ended August 31, 2003, the Company completed the final phase of the inventory acquisition.  As partial consideration for the purchase of the inventory the Company issued two promissory notes, based on its understanding of the value of the inventory purchased.  The Company believes it overpaid the obligation by approximately $820,000.  The holder counterclaimed for approximately $2,400,000.

Litigation was completed on March 5, 2007, with the court’s general judgment and money award.  The net effect was money judgment in favor of Greenwood Forest Products, Inc. for $242,604.  The Company accrued reserves to cover the money judgment related to this dispute.  Both parties filed appeals for review of the court’s opinion.

During the 1st quarter of fiscal 2011, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the judgment in favor of Jewett Cameron as plaintiffs should be reversed and the judgment in favor of the defendants should stand.  The judgment in favor of the Company was for $819,000 plus attorneys fees.  The judgment against the plaintiffs is for $1,187,137.  The Company appealed the decision to the Oregon Supreme Court. During the 1st quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company recorded a litigation loss of $962,137 and interest of $391,988 in addition to the existing litigation reserve of $225,000. Additional interest of $48,790 was recorded during the remainder of fiscal 2011. During the 1st quarter of fiscal 2012 ended November 30, 2011, additional interest of $16,204 was accrued.

In February 2012, the Company received the decision from the Oregon Supreme Court which was favorable to Jewett Cameron as plaintiff. As a result, the Company has reversed $1,459,832 of the litigation reserve and accrued interest during the 2nd quarter of fiscal 2012 ended February 29, 2012.  The reversal was treated as a one-time gain during the quarter.

In July 2014, upon remand from the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon Court of Appeals has concluded that Greenwood Forest Products, Inc. as defendants are entitled to a new trial, and, as a consequence, ruled that the judgment in favor of Jewett Cameron as plaintiffs should be reversed and the judgment in favor of defendants should stand.  The judgment in favor of the Company was for $819,000 plus attorney’s fees.  The judgment against plaintiffs was for $1,187,137.  On August 7, 2014, the Company filed a petition with the Oregon Supreme Court for a review of the Oregon Court of Appeals notice. The petition requests the Oregon Supreme Court review the most recent ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals, reverse the decision, and affirm the original judgment of the trial court. In December 2014, the Company received notice that the Oregon Supreme Court has accepted the case for review. As of the date of this filing, the potential exposure to the Company of this new ruling is $1.8 million.

During the year ended August 31, 2014, the Company recorded $26,716 of interest income due to the favorable difference in interest rates between the judgments. During the period ended November 30, 2014, the Company recorded $6,661 of interest income.

A summary of the litigation reserve is as follows:

	November 30, 2014	August 31, 2014
Litigation loss	$                  -	$                  -
Litigation reserve	117,387	144,103
Interest expense	-	-
Interest income	(6,661)	(26,716)
Total	$      110,726	$      117,387

b)            At November 30, 2014 and August 31, 2014 the Company had an un-utilized line-of-credit of $1,000,000 (note 7).  The line-of-credit has certain financial covenants. The Company is in compliance with these covenants.