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LITIGATION AND CONTINGENCIES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
LITIGATION AND CONTINGENCIES
LITIGATION AND CONTINGENCIES

General

The Company is involved in various legal proceedings, including product liability, general liability, workers’ compensation liability, employment, commercial and intellectual property litigation, which have arisen in the normal course of operations. The Company is insured for product liability, general liability, workers’ compensation, employer’s liability, property damage and other insurable risk required by law or contract, with retained liability or deductibles. The Company records and maintains an estimated liability in the amount of management’s estimate of the Company’s aggregate exposure for such retained liabilities and deductibles. For such retained liabilities and deductibles, the Company determines its exposure based on probable loss estimations, which requires such losses to be both probable and the amount or range of probable loss to be estimable. The Company believes it has made appropriate and adequate reserves and accruals for its current contingencies and the likelihood of a material loss beyond amounts accrued is remote. The Company believes the outcome of such matters, individually and in aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on its financial statements as a whole. However, outcomes of lawsuits cannot be predicted and, if determined adversely, could ultimately result in the Company incurring significant liabilities which could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations.

See Note S - “Litigation and Contingencies,” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 included in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 25, 2017 for a detailed description of the Company’s securities class action and stockholder derivative lawsuits as well as proceedings involving certain former shareholders of Demag Cranes AG.

The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings which have arisen in the normal course of its operations.  The Company has recorded provisions for estimated losses in circumstances where a loss is probable and the amount or range of possible amounts of the loss is estimable.

Credit Guarantees

Customers of the Company from time to time may fund the acquisition of the Company’s equipment through third-party finance companies.  In certain instances, the Company may provide a credit guarantee to the finance company, by which the Company agrees to make payments to the finance company should the customer default.  The maximum liability of the Company is generally limited to its customer’s remaining payments due to the finance company at the time of default.  In the event of customer default, the Company or the finance company is generally able to recover and dispose of the equipment at a minimum loss, if any, to the Company.

As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s maximum exposure to such credit guarantees was $48.6 million and $42.3 million, respectively (credit guarantees as of December 31, 2016 include $2.0 million of guarantees related to discontinued operations). Terms of these guarantees coincide with the financing arranged by the customer and generally do not exceed five years. Given the Company’s position as original equipment manufacturer and its knowledge of end markets, the Company, when called upon to fulfill a guarantee, generally has been able to liquidate the financed equipment at a minimal loss, if any, to the Company.

There can be no assurance that historical credit default experience will be indicative of future results.  The Company’s ability to recover losses experienced from its guarantees may be affected by economic conditions in effect at the time of loss.

Residual Value and Buyback Guarantees

The Company issues residual value guarantees under sales-type leases. A residual value guarantee involves a guarantee that a piece of equipment will have a minimum fair market value at a future date if certain conditions are met by the customer. Maximum exposure for residual value guarantees issued by the Company totaled $8.0 million and $7.1 million as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. The Company is generally able to mitigate some risk associated with these guarantees because the maturity of guarantees is staggered, limiting the amount of used equipment entering the marketplace at any one time.

The Company from time to time guarantees that it will buy equipment from its customers in the future at a stated price if certain conditions are met by the customer.  Such guarantees are referred to as buyback guarantees.  These conditions generally pertain to functionality and state of repair of the machine.  As of September 30, 2017, the Company has no exposure pursuant to buyback guarantees. At December 31, 2016, the Company’s maximum exposure pursuant to buyback guarantees was $3.5 million, ($3.2 million related to discontinued operations). The Company is generally able to mitigate some risk of these guarantees because maturity of guarantees is staggered, limiting the amount of used equipment entering the marketplace at any one time and through leveraging its access to used equipment markets provided by the Company’s original equipment manufacturer status.

The Company has recorded an aggregate liability within Other current liabilities and Other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet of approximately $4 million as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, for estimated fair value of all guarantees provided.

There can be no assurance the Company’s historical experience in used equipment markets will be indicative of future results.  The Company’s ability to recover losses experienced from its guarantees may be affected by economic conditions in used equipment markets at the time of loss.