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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies
The Company has aggregate reserves for its legal, environmental and regulatory matters of approximately $18.1 at December 31, 2013. These reserves relate primarily to the matters described below. However, based on currently available information, including legal defenses available to the Company, and given the aforementioned reserves and related insurance coverage, the Company does not believe that the outcome of these legal, environmental and regulatory matters will have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Legal and Environmental Matters
HGI
HGI is a nominal defendant, and the members of its board of directors are named as defendants in a derivative action filed in December 2010 by Alan R. Kahn in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The plaintiff alleges that the Spectrum Brands acquisition was financially unfair to HGI and its public stockholders and seeks unspecified damages and the rescission of the transaction. The Company believes the allegations are without merit and intends to vigorously defend this matter.
HGI is also involved in other litigation and claims incidental to its current and prior businesses. These include workers compensation and environmental matters and pending cases in Mississippi and Louisiana state courts and in a Federal multi-district litigation alleging injury from exposure to asbestos on offshore drilling rigs and shipping vessels formerly owned or operated by its offshore drilling and bulk-shipping affiliates. Based on currently available information, including legal defenses available to it, and given its reserves and related insurance coverage, the Company does not believe that the outcome of these legal and environmental matters will have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Spectrum Brands
Spectrum Brands has accrued approximately $4.8 for the estimated costs associated with environmental remediation activities at some of its current and former manufacturing sites. Spectrum Brands believes that any additional liability which may result from resolution of these matters in excess of the amounts provided for will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations or cash flows of Spectrum Brands.
Spectrum Brands is a defendant in various other matters of litigation generally arising out of the ordinary course of business. Spectrum Brands does not believe that the resolution of any other matters or proceedings presently pending will have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial condition, liquidity or cash flows.
FGL
FGL is involved in various pending or threatened legal proceedings, including purported class actions, arising in the ordinary course of business. In some instances, these proceedings include claims for unspecified or substantial punitive damages and similar types of relief in addition to amounts for alleged contractual liability or requests for equitable relief. In the opinion of FGL management and in light of existing insurance and other potential indemnification, reinsurance and established reserves, such litigation is not expected to have a material adverse effect on FGL’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Regulatory Matters
FGL
FGL is assessed amounts by the state guaranty funds to cover losses to policyholders of insolvent or rehabilitated insurance companies. Those mandatory assessments may be partially recovered through a reduction in future premium taxes in certain states. At December 31, 2013, FGL has accrued $4.8 for guaranty fund assessments which is expected to be offset by estimated future premium tax deductions of $4.6.

FGL has received inquiries from a number of state regulatory authorities regarding its use of the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (the "Death Master File") and compliance with state claims practices regulation. To date, FGL has received inquiries from authorities in Maryland, Minnesota and New York. The New York Insurance Department issued a letter and subsequent regulation requiring life insurers doing business in New York to use the Death Master File or similar databases to determine if benefits were payable under life insurance policies, annuities, and retained asset accounts. Legislation requiring insurance companies to use the Death Master File to identify potential claims has recently been enacted in Maryland and other states. As a result of these legislative and regulatory developments, in May 2012 FGL undertook an initiative to use the Death Master File and other publicly available databases to identify persons potentially entitled to benefits under life insurance policies, annuities and retained asset accounts. In July 2012, FGL incurred an $11.0 pre-tax charge, net of reinsurance, to increase reserves to cover potential benefits payable resulting from this ongoing effort. Based on its analysis to date, and management’s estimate, FGL believes this accrual will cover the reasonably estimated liability arising out of these developments. In addition, FGL has received audit and examination notices from several state agencies responsible for escheatment and unclaimed property regulation in those states.  FGL has established a contingency of $2.0, the mid-point of an estimated range of $1.0 to $3.0, related to the external legal costs and administrative costs of said audits and examinations. Additional costs that cannot be reasonably estimated as of the date of this filing are possible as a result of ongoing regulatory developments and other future requirements related to this matter.

The EXCO/HGI JV

Various federal, state and local laws and regulations covering discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment, may affect the EXCO/HGI’s operations and the costs of its oil and natural gas exploitation, development and production operations. The EXCO/HGI JV does not anticipate that it will be required in the foreseeable future to expend amounts material in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole by reason of environmental laws and regulations. Because these laws and regulations are constantly being changed, the EXCO/HGI JV is unable to predict the conditions and other factors over which the EXCO/HGI JV does not exercise control that may give rise to environmental liabilities affecting it.
Guarantees
Throughout its history, the Company has entered into indemnifications in the ordinary course of business with customers, suppliers, service providers, business partners and, in certain instances, when it sold businesses. Additionally, the Company has indemnified its directors and officers who are, or were, serving at the request of the Company in such capacities. Although the specific terms or number of such arrangements is not precisely known due to the extensive history of past operations, costs incurred to settle claims related to these indemnifications have not been material to the Company’s financial statements. The Company has no reason to believe that future costs to settle claims related to its former operations will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
The F&G Stock Purchase Agreement between FGL and OMGUK includes a Guarantee and Pledge Agreement which creates certain obligations for FGH as a grantor and also grants a security interest to OMGUK of FGH’s equity interest in FGL Insurance in the event that FGL fails to perform in accordance with the terms of the F&G Stock Purchase Agreement. The Company is not aware of any events or transactions that resulted in non-compliance with the Guarantee and Pledge Agreement.
Unfunded Asset Based Lending Commitments
Through Salus, the Company enters into commitments to extend credit to meet the financing needs of its asset based lending customers upon satisfaction of certain conditions. At December 31, 2013, the notional amount of unfunded, legally binding lending commitments was approximately $226.6, of which $20.9 expires in one year or less, and the remainder expires between one and five years.