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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Environmental
We are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign environmental laws and regulations concerning, among other matters, waste water effluents, air emissions, and handling and disposal of hazardous materials, such as cleaning fluids. We are involved with environmental compliance, investigation, monitoring, and remediation activities at certain of our owned and formerly owned manufacturing facilities and at one owned facility that is leased to a third party, and, except for these continuing remediation efforts, believes we are currently in substantial compliance with all known environmental regulations. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had undiscounted accrued environmental reserves of $0.3 and $0.6, respectively.
Legal Proceedings
Stainless Steel Cryobiological Tank Legal Proceedings
During the second quarter of 2018, Chart was named in lawsuits (including lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) filed against Chart and other defendants with respect to the alleged failure of a stainless steel cryobiological storage tank (model MVE 808AF-GB) at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco, California.  We continue to evaluate the merits of such claims in light of the information available to date regarding use, maintenance and operation of the tank that was sold to the Pacific Fertility Center through an independent distributor and which has been out of our control for six years prior to the alleged failure.  Accordingly, an accrual related to any damages that may result from the lawsuits has not been recorded because a potential loss is not currently probable or estimable. In connection with the Cryobiological Divestiture, Chart retained certain potential liabilities and claims, including the claims asserted in connection with the litigation.
We have asserted various defenses against the claims in the lawsuits, including a defense that since manufacture, we were not in any way involved with the installation, ongoing maintenance or monitoring of the tank or related fertility center cryogenic systems at any time since the initial delivery of the tank.
Aluminum Cryobiological Tank Legal Proceeding
Chart was named in a purported class action lawsuit filed during the second quarter of 2018 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Company and other defendants with respect to the alleged failure of an aluminum cryobiological storage tank (model FNL XC 47/11-6 W/11) at The Toronto Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Etobicoke, Ontario. A settlement has been reached by the parties in the lawsuit with no material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
We are occasionally subject to various legal claims related to performance under contracts, product liability, taxes, employment matters, environmental matters, intellectual property, and other matters incidental to the normal course of our business. Based on our historical experience in litigating these claims, as well as our current assessment of the underlying merits of the claims and applicable insurance, if any, management believes that the final resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity, cash flows, or results of operations. Future developments may, however, result in resolution of these legal claims in a way that could have a material adverse effect. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”