Legal Proceedings

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Legal Proceedings

Legal Proceedings

12.	Legal Proceedings
	The Company is a defendant along with a number of other parties in lawsuits alleging that plaintiffs have or may have contracted asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos products or equipment containing asbestos sold by one or more named defendants. Due to the noninformative nature of the complaints, the Company does not know whether any of the complaints state valid claims against us. Certain insurance carriers have informed us that the primary policies for the period August 1, 1970-1973, have been exhausted and that the carriers will no longer provide a defense under those policies. We have requested that the carriers substantiate this situation. The Company believes it has additional policies available for other years which have been ignored by the carriers. Because settlement payments are applied to all years a litigant was deemed to have been exposed to asbestos, the Company believes when settlement payments are applied to these additional policies, it will have availability under the years deemed exhausted. The Company does not believe that the asserted exhaustion of the primary insurance coverage for this period will have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, liquidity, or results of operations. Management believes that the number of insurance carriers involved in the defense of the suits and the significant number of policy years and policy limits, to which these insurance carriers are insuring us, make the ultimate disposition of these lawsuits not material to our consolidated financial position or results of operations.
	The Company's wholly owned French subsidiary, Selas SAS, filed for insolvency in France and is being managed by a court appointed judiciary administrator. The Company may be subject to additional litigation or liabilities as a result of the French insolvency proceeding.
	The Company is also involved in other lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. While it is not possible to predict with certainty the outcome of these matters, management is of the opinion that the disposition of these lawsuits and claims will not materially affect our consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations.