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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
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, believe we are currently in substantial compliance with all known environmental regulations. Undiscounted accrued reserves at December 31, 2022 and 2021 were not material.
Legal Proceedings
In connection with our divestiture of our Cryobiological business, Chart retained certain potential liabilities, including claims in connection with our following litigation. 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. In May and June of 2021, the first five of the federal lawsuits went to trial, and on June 10, 2021, the jury reached a verdict against Chart in favor of the plaintiffs in those lawsuits in the amount of $14.9 million, of which 90% ($13.5 million) is attributable to Chart. Subsequent to the initial verdict, the Company filed various post-trial motions and appeals based on various factors, including the Company’s belief that the allocation of fault was not supported by the record, the award of emotional distress damages, the exclusion of certain evidence of trial, and our contention that plaintiffs failed to present sufficient evidence to prove each element of their claim.
In the second quarter 2021, we recorded a loss contingency accrual and corresponding charge to net income for $13.5 million in the amount of the jury verdict attributable to Chart, with an offsetting $13.5 million loss recovery receivable for anticipated insurance proceeds, with a corresponding credit to net income.
On June 13, 2022, Starr Indemnity & Liability Company (“Starr”) filed a complaint for declaratory relief and reimbursement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking a determination of what obligation, if any, Starr has to indemnify Chart in connection with the Pacific Fertility Center actions. On June 14, 2022, Chart filed its own declaratory judgment action against Starr in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia seeking a determination that Starr has a duty to indemnify the Company in connection with the Pacific Fertility Center actions.
As previously disclosed, the Company has been engaged in ongoing discussions in an effort to establish a settlement framework for the various lawsuits (both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as well as the San
Francisco Superior Court) associated with the Pacific Fertility Center. After substantial discussions with the various constituent parties, the Company reached a preliminary settlement in late January 2023 to resolve these 217 cases. This preliminary settlement will resolve the prior verdict for the initially tried cases, which is on appeal, as well as the previously disclosed Starr insurance dispute, and remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, which the Company currently anticipates occurring as early as March 2023. The Company has taken a loss contingency accrual of $305.6 million and a related loss receivable of $231.9 million from insurance proceeds from these combined cases which are recognized in our consolidated balance sheet. The net loss of approximately $73.0 million is recognized in discontinued operations and represents the expected out-of-pocket, payments in connection with these settlements. We continue to evaluate the merits of the sole remaining lawsuit that is not included in the preliminary settlement in light of the information available. Based on the status of that lawsuit, a current estimate of reasonably possible losses in that case cannot be made; however, the Company does not anticipate the potential exposure to be material. This preliminary settlement and the expected net out-of-pocket payments does not reflect third party recoveries which the Company will aggressively pursue with respect to the underlying facts in these cases, and which the Company currently anticipates will result in recoveries approximating one-quarter or more of the Company’s out-of-pocket, net payments.
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, including the Pacific Fertility Center cases described above, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity, cash flows, or results of operations, except that our results of operations for any particular reporting period may be adversely affected by any potential or actual loss that is accrued in such period. Future developments may, however, result in resolution of these legal claims in a way that could have a material adverse effect.