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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies
Product Litigation
The Company is currently named as a defendant in 12 lawsuits in which the plaintiffs allege either wrongful death or personal injury in situations in which a TASER CEW was used (or present) by law enforcement officers in connection with arrests or during training exercises. In addition, one other product litigation matter in which the Company is involved is currently on appeal. While the facts vary from case to case, the product liability claims are typically based on an alleged product defect resulting in injury or death, usually involving a failure to warn, and the plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages. Three recent lawsuits allege fraud and misrepresentation and are seeking punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. The information throughout this note is current through the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

As a general rule, it is the Company’s policy not to settle suspect injury or death cases. Exceptions are sometimes made where the settlement is strategically beneficial to the Company. Also, on occasion, the Company’s insurance company has settled such lawsuits over the Company’s objection where the risk is over the Company’s liability insurance deductibles. Due to the confidentiality of our litigation strategy and the confidentiality agreements that are executed in the event of a settlement, the Company does not identify or comment on which specific lawsuits have been settled or the amount of any settlement.
In 2009, the Company implemented new risk management strategies, including revisions to product warnings and training to better protect both the Company and its customers from litigation based on ‘failure to warn’ theories - which comprise the vast majority of the cases against the Company. These risk management strategies have been highly effective in reducing the rate and exposure from litigation post-2009. From the third quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2015, product liability cases have been reduced from 55 active to 13 active cases.
 
Management believes that pre-2009 cases have a different risk profile than cases which have occurred since the risk management procedures were introduced in 2009. Therefore, the Company necessarily treats certain pre-2009 cases as exceptions to the Company’s general no settlement policy in order to reduce caseload, legal costs and liability exposure. The Company intends to continue its successful practice of aggressively defending and generally not settling litigation except in very limited and unusual circumstances as described above.
 
With respect to each of the pending lawsuits, the following table lists the name of plaintiff, the date the Company was served with process, the jurisdiction in which the case is pending, the type of claim and the status of the matter.
Plaintiff
  
Month
Served
  
Jurisdiction
  
Claim Type
  
Status
Koon
  
Dec-08
  
17th Judicial Circuit Court, Broward County, FL
  
Training Injury
  
Discovery Phase
Derbyshire
  
Nov-09
  
Ontario, Canada Superior Court of Justice
  
Officer Injury
  
Discovery Phase
Thompson
  
Mar-10
  
11th Judicial Circuit Court, Miami-Dade County, FL
  
Suspect Injury During Arrest
  
Discovery Phase - Trial scheduled November 2015
Doan
  
Apr-10
  
The Queen's Bench Alberta, Red Deer Judicial Dist.
  
Wrongful Death
  
Discovery Phase
Shymko
  
Dec-10
  
The Queen's Bench, Winnipeg Centre, Manitoba
  
Wrongful Death
  
Pleading Phase
Ramsey
  
Jan-12
  
17th Judicial Circuit Court, Broward County, FL
  
Wrongful Death
  
Discovery Phase
Firman
  
Apr-12
  
Ontario, Canada Superior Court of Justice
  
Wrongful Death
  
Pleading Phase
Schrock
  
Sep-14
  
San Bernardino County Superior Court, CA
  
Wrongful Death
  
Discovery Phase - Trial scheduled July 2016
Moore
  
Nov-14
  
St. Louis County Circuit Court, MO
  
Wrongful Death
  
Pleading Phase
Jones
  
Jan-15
  
Los Angeles County Superior Court, CA
  
Suspect Injury
  
Discovery Phase - Trial scheduled April 2016
McKelvey
 
Apr-15
 
US District Court, OR
 
Wrongful Death
 
Pleading Phase
Price
 
Jul-15
 
US District Court, OR
 
Wrongful Death
 
Pleading Phase

In addition, other product litigation matters in which the Company is involved that are currently on appeal are listed below:
Plaintiff
  
Month
Served
  
Jurisdiction
  
Claim Type
  
Status
Mitchell
  
Apr-12
  
US District Court, ED MI
  
Wrongful Death
  
Notice of Appeal filed August 2014


Cases that were dismissed or judgment entered during the second quarter of 2015 and through the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are listed in the table below. Cases that were dismissed or judgment entered in prior fiscal quarters are not included in this table.
Plaintiff
  
Month
Served
  
Jurisdiction
  
Claim Type
  
Status
Ricks
 
May-12
 
US District Court, WD LA
 
Wrongful Death
 
Motion for Directed Verdict granted

The claims, and in some instances the defense, of each of these lawsuits have been submitted to the Company’s insurance carriers that maintained insurance coverage during the applicable periods. The Company continues to maintain product liability insurance coverage with varying limits and deductibles. The following table provides information regarding the Company’s product liability insurance. Remaining insurance coverage is based on information received from the Company’s insurance provider (in millions).
Policy Year
 
Policy
Start
Date
 
Policy
End
Date
 
Insurance
Coverage
 
Deductible
Amount
 
Defense
Costs
Covered
 
Remaining
Insurance
Coverage
 
Active Cases and Cases on
Appeal
2004
 
12/1/2003
 
12/1/2004
 
$
2.0

 
$
0.1

 
N
 
$
2.0

 
n/a
2005
 
12/1/2004
 
12/1/2005
 
10.0

 
0.3

 
Y
 
7.0

 
n/a
2006
 
12/1/2005
 
12/1/2006
 
10.0

 
0.3

 
Y
 
3.7

 
n/a
2007
 
12/1/2006
 
12/1/2007
 
10.0

 
0.3

 
Y
 
8.0

 
n/a
2008
 
12/1/2007
 
12/15/2008
 
10.0

 
0.5

 
Y
 

 
Koon
2009
 
12/15/2008
 
12/15/2009
 
10.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
10.0

 
Derbyshire
2010
 
12/15/2009
 
12/15/2010
 
10.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
10.0

 
Thompson, Shymko, Doan
2011
 
12/15/2010
 
12/15/2011
 
10.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
10.0

 
n/a
Jan-Jun 2012
 
12/15/2011
 
6/25/2012
 
7.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
7.0

 
Ramsey, Mitchell, Firman
Jul-Dec 2012
 
6/25/2012
 
12/15/2012
 
12.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
12.0

 
n/a
2013
 
12/15/2012
 
12/15/2013
 
12.0

 
1.0

 
N
 
12.0

 
n/a
2014
 
12/15/2013
 
12/15/2014
 
11.0

 
4.0

 
N
 
11.0

 
Schrock, Moore
2015
 
12/15/2014
 
12/15/2015
 
10.0

 
5.0

 
N
 
10.0

 
Jones, McKelvey, Price

General
From time to time, the Company is notified that it may be a party to a lawsuit or that a claim is being made against it. It is the Company’s policy to not disclose the specifics of any claim or threatened lawsuit until the summons and complaint are actually served on the Company. After carefully assessing the claim, and assuming we determine that we are not at fault or we disagree with the damages or relief demanded, we vigorously defend any lawsuit filed against the Company. In certain legal matters, we record a liability when losses are deemed probable and reasonably estimable. In evaluating matters for accrual and disclosure purposes, we take into consideration factors such as our historical experience with matters of a similar nature, the specific facts and circumstances asserted, the likelihood of our prevailing, and the severity of any potential loss. We reevaluate and update our accruals as matters progress over time.

Based on our assessment of outstanding litigation and claims as of June 30, 2015, the Company has determined that it is not reasonably possible that these lawsuits will individually, or in the aggregate, materially affect our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. However, the outcome of any litigation is inherently uncertain and there can be no assurance that any expense, liability or damages that may ultimately result from the resolution of these matters will be covered by our insurance or will not be in excess of amounts recognized or provided by insurance coverage and will not have a material adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition or cash flows.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Under certain circumstances, the Company uses letters of credit and surety bonds to guarantee its performance under various contracts, principally in connection with the installation and integration of its Axon cameras and related technologies. Certain of the Company's letters of credit contracts and surety bonds have stated expiration dates with others being released as the contractual performance terms are completed. At June 30, 2015, the Company had outstanding letters of credit of approximately $3.0 million. Of that amount, $2.7 million is expected to expire in May 2017 and $0.3 million is expected to expire in January 2017. Additionally, the Company had approximately $2.4 million of outstanding surety bonds at June 30, 2015, with $2.2 million expiring in July 2018 and the remaining $0.2 million expected to be released during the third quarter of 2015 with the completion of the remaining contractual performance terms.