Contingent Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Loss Contingency [Abstract]

CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

NOTE 8: CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

The Company reserves for the estimated costs of product liability, environmental remediation, and other legal matters as management becomes aware of such items. A portion of these claims or lawsuits may be covered by insurance policies that generally contain both deductible and coverage limits. Management monitors the progress of each legal or environmental matter to ensure that the appropriate reserve for its estimated obligation has been recognized and disclosed in the financial statements. Management also monitors trends in case types and environmental regulations to determine if there are any specific issues that relate to the Company that may result in additional future exposure on an aggregate basis. The Company accrues, by a charge to income, an amount representing management’s best estimate of the undiscounted probable loss related to any matter deemed by management and its counsel as a probable loss contingency in light of all of the then known circumstances. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, management believes the Company has appropriately recorded and disclosed all material costs for its obligations in regard to known matters. Management believes that the recoverability of the costs of claims from insurance companies will continue in the future and periodically assesses these insurance companies to monitor their ability to pay such claims.

From time to time the Company is named a defendant in product liability lawsuits, some of which seek significant or unspecified damages involving serious personal injuries, for which there are retentions or deductible amounts under the Company’s insurance policies. Some of these lawsuits arise out of the Company’s duty to indemnify the purchasers of the Company’s discontinued operations for lawsuits involving products manufactured prior to the sale of certain of these businesses. In addition, the Company is a party to a number of other suits arising out of the normal course of its business, including suits concerning commercial contracts, employee matters, and intellectual property rights. In some instances the Company has been the plaintiff, and has sought recovery of damages. In others, the Company is a defendant against whom damages are sought. While there can be no assurance as to their ultimate outcome, management does not believe these lawsuits will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, operating results or cash flows in the future. As of March 31, 2013, the Company has recorded liabilities totaling $6.2 million on the Consolidated Balance Sheet for estimated product liability and environmental remediation costs.