14.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Matters

The Company has other lawsuits, as well as other claims, pending against it which are ordinary routine litigation and claims incidental to the business. Management has evaluated the merits of these other lawsuits and claims, and believes that their ultimate resolution will not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or competitive position.

Purchase Commitments

The Company fulfills requirements for raw materials under both purchase orders and supply contracts. In the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company purchased substantially all of its reclaimed wood fiber requirements under purchase orders which do not involve long-term supply commitments. Substantially all of the Company’s scrap polyethylene purchases are under short-term supply contracts that average approximately one to two years, for which pricing is negotiated as needed.

The wood and polyethylene supply contracts generally provide that the Company is obligated to purchase all of the wood or polyethylene a supplier provides, if the wood or polyethylene meets certain specifications. The amount of wood and polyethylene the Company is required to purchase under these contracts varies with the production of its suppliers and, accordingly, is not fixed or determinable. As of December 31, 2015, the Company has purchase commitments under material supply contracts of $21.1 million, $9.8 million, $0.7 million and $47,000 for the years ending December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The Company outsources the production of certain products to third-party manufacturers under supply contracts that committed the Company to purchase minimum levels for each year extending through 2015.

Contract Termination Costs

In anticipation of relocating its corporate headquarters, the Company entered into a lease agreement in 2005. The Company subsequently reconsidered and decided not to move its headquarters. The agreement obligates the Company to lease 55,047 square feet of office space through June 30, 2019. As of December 31, 2015, the Company has executed subleases for 49,756 square feet of the leased space and is currently marketing the remaining portion of the space to find a suitable tenant. The Company estimates that the present value of the estimated future sublease receipts, net of transaction costs, will be less than the remaining minimum lease payment obligations under its lease and has recorded a liability for the expected shortfall. During 2014, the Company recorded $1.5 million in charges due to downward revisions of its estimate of future sublease receipts resulting from the departure of a subtenant that decided not to renew its sublease at the end of 2014. During 2015, the Company recorded $0.2 million in charges due to revisions of its estimates.

To estimate future sublease receipts, the Company has assumed that the existing subleases will be renewed or new subleases will be executed at rates consistent with rental rates in the current subleases or estimated market rates and that existing vacancies will be filled within one year. However, management cannot be certain that the timing of future subleases or the rental rates contained in future subleases will not differ from current estimates. Factors such as the availability of commercial office space, market conditions and subtenant preferences will influence the terms achieved in future subleases. The inability to sublet the office space in the future or unfavorable changes to key assumptions used in the estimate of the future sublease receipts may result in material charges to selling, general and administrative expenses in future periods.

As of December 31, 2015, the minimum payments remaining under the Company’s lease over the years ending December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 are $1.9 million, $1.9 million, $2.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively. The net minimum receipts remaining under the Company’s existing subleases over the years ending December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 are $1.1 million, $1.2 million, $1.3 million, and $0.7 million, respectively.

The following table provides information about the Company’s liability under the lease (in thousands):


	2015			2014
Beginning balance, January 1	$	3,033		$	1,787
Net rental payments		(1,352	)		(403	)
Accretion of discount		220			178
Increase in net estimated contract termination costs		205			1,471

Ending balance, December 31	$	2,106		$	3,033

Product Warranty

The Company warrants that its products will be free from material defects in workmanship and materials. Generally, this warranty period is 25 years for residential use and 10 years for commercial use, excluding TrexTrim™ and Trex Reveal^® Railing, which have a warranty period of 25 years for both residential and commercial use. The Company further warrants that Trex Transcend^®, Trex Enhance^®, Trex Select^® and Universal Fascia products will not fade in color more than a certain amount and will be resistant to permanent staining from food substances or mold, provided the stain is cleaned within seven days of appearance. This additional warranty extends for a period of 25 years for residential use and 10 years for commercial use. If there is a breach of such warranties, the Company has an obligation either to replace the defective product or refund the purchase price.

The Company continues to receive and settle surface flaking claims related to material produced at the Nevada facility prior to 2007 and maintains a warranty reserve to provide for the settlement of these claims. In 2009, the Company agreed to a settlement of a class action lawsuit covering the surface defect, stipulating its responsibilities with regard to such claims. Estimating the warranty reserve for surface flaking claims requires management to estimate (1) the number of claims to be settled with payment and (2) the average cost to settle each claim.

To estimate the number of future paid claims, the Company utilizes actuarial techniques to quantify both the expected number of claims to be received and the percentage of those claims that will ultimately require payment (collectively, elements). Estimates for these elements are quantified using a range of assumptions derived from count history and the identification of factors influencing the claim counts, including the downward trend in received claims due to the passage of time since production of the suspect material.

A number of factors make estimates of the number of claims to be received and cost per claim inherently uncertain. The Company believes that production of the suspect material was confined to material produced from its Nevada facility prior to 2007, but is unable to determine the amount of suspect material produced or the exact time it takes for surface flaking to become evident in the suspect material and materialize as a claim. In addition, the Company is not aware of any analogous industry data that might be referenced in predicting future claims to be received. The number of surface flaking claims received peaked in 2009 in conjunction with the class action settlement and has declined each year thereafter.

Cost per claim varies due to a number of factors, including the size of affected decks, the type of replacement material used, the cost of production of replacement material and the method of claim settlement. Cost per claim declined from 2007 through 2009 but has increased each year thereafter.

The Company monitors surface flaking claims activity each quarter for indications that its estimate of the number of claims expected requires revision. Due to extensive use of decks during the summer outdoor season, variance to annual claims expectations is typically observed during the latter part of the Company’s fiscal year.

During the third quarter of 2013, the number of claims received was significantly greater than the Company’s prior estimates. The Company believes that this unexpected increase in claims was due primarily to responses from homeowners to (1) communications made by the Company in July 2013 informing homeowners of potential hazards associated with decking products exhibiting surface flaking that are not timely replaced, and (2) public notices made subsequent to the August 2013 United States District Court, Northern District of California preliminary approval of a settlement agreement related to cases in which plaintiffs generally alleged certain defects in our products and alleged misrepresentations relating to mold growth. Due to the unfavorable claims experience during the three months ended September 30, 2013, the Company revised its estimate of the number of remaining future claims and recorded a $20 million increase to the warranty reserve.

During 2014, the number of claims received was lower than the Company’s expectations, while the average cost per claim was higher than the Company’s expectations for 2014. Based on claims activity experienced, the Company revised its assumed future number of claims and average cost per claim. The revised assumptions did not result in a change to the Company’s reserve in 2014. The increase in the amount paid to settle surface flaking claims in 2014 compared to 2013 primarily resulted from the large number of claims received during the second half of 2013, as described above.

During 2015, both the number of claims received and the average cost per claim were slightly higher than expectations. As a result and after actuarial review, the Company revised its estimate and recorded an increase to the warranty reserve of $5.4 million during the third quarter of 2015. However, the number of surface flaking claims received continues to decline each year and amounts paid to settle such claims during 2015 were significantly lower than 2014. The Company believes that its reserve at December 31, 2015, is sufficient to cover future surface flaking obligations.

The Company’s analysis is based on currently known facts and a number of assumptions. Projecting future events such as the number of claims to be received, the number of claims that will require payment and the average cost of claims could cause the actual warranty liability to be higher or lower than those projected, which could materially affect the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flow. The Company estimates that the number of claims received will decline over time and that the average cost per claim will increase slightly, primarily due to inflation. If the level of claims received or average cost per claim differs materially from expectations, it could result in additional increases to the warranty reserve and reduced earnings and cash flows in future periods. The Company estimates that a 10% change in the expected number of remaining claims to be settled with payment or the expected cost to settle claims may result in approximately a $3.0 million change in the surface flaking warranty reserve.

The following is a reconciliation of the Company’s surface flaking warranty reserve (in thousands):


	2015			2014
Beginning balance, January 1	$	31,419		$	40,312
Changes in estimates related to pre-existing warranties		5,426			—
Settlements made during the period		(7,172	)		(8,893	)

Ending balance, December 31	$	29,673		$	31,419

The remainder of the Company’s warranty reserve represents amounts accrued for non-surface flaking claims.