Investigations, Claims and Litigation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Investigations, Claims and Litigation

11. INVESTIGATIONS, CLAIMS AND LITIGATION

On May 4, 2012, the company commenced an action, Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. United States, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. This lawsuit related to an approximately $875 million firm fixed-price contract awarded to the company in 2007 by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for the construction and delivery of flats sequencing systems (FSS) as part of the postal automation program. The FSS were delivered. The company’s lawsuit sought approximately $63 million for unpaid portions of the contract price, and approximately $115 million based on the company’s assertions that, through various acts and omissions over the life of the contract, the USPS adversely affected the cost and schedule of performance and materially altered the company’s obligations under the contract. The United States responded to the company’s complaint with an answer, denying most of the company’s claims, and counterclaims seeking approximately $410 million, primarily for delay and lost savings. On February 3, 2020, after extensive discovery and motions practice, the parties commenced what was expected to be a seven-week trial. After COVID-19-related interruptions, trial concluded on March 5, 2021. On June 27, 2022, the judge issued a decision in the company’s favor. On July 18, 2022, the government filed a motion for reconsideration. On October 17, 2022, the court denied the government’s motion for reconsideration and on October 19, 2022, the court entered judgment in the company’s favor. On November 9, 2022, the Postal Service paid the company the full judgment amount of approximately $83 million. Neither party appealed prior to the December 19, 2022 deadline.

The company is engaged in remediation activities relating to environmental conditions allegedly resulting from historic operations at the former United States Navy and Grumman facilities in Bethpage, New York. For over 20 years, the company has worked closely with the United States Navy, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the New York State Department of Health and other federal, state and local governmental authorities, to address legacy environmental conditions in Bethpage. In December 2019, the State of New York issued an Amended Record of Decision seeking to impose additional remedial requirements beyond measures the company previously had been taking; the State also communicated that it was assessing potential natural resource damages. In December 2020, the parties reached a tentative agreement regarding the steps the company would take to implement the State’s Amended Record of Decision and to resolve certain potential other claims, including for natural resource damages. On September 22, 2021, the State of New York issued for public comment a new consent decree reflecting the agreement. On December 7, 2021, the public comment period closed. On August 3, 2022, the court approved the consent decree. We have also reached agreements with the Department of Defense and the Bethpage and South Farmingdale Water Districts to resolve claims involving these parties. Those agreements have also been approved by the courts as necessary. The company continues to be involved in related disputes with the Towns of Oyster Bay and Hempstead.

We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, as included in Note 12, substantial remediation costs related to the legacy Bethpage environmental conditions. It is also possible that applicable remediation standards and other requirements to which we are subject may continue to change, and that our costs may increase materially. In addition to disputes and legal proceedings related to environmental conditions and remediation at the site, we are a party to various individual lawsuits and a putative class action alleging personal injury and property damage in the Eastern District of New York. The filed individual lawsuits have been stayed, pending a court decision on class certification. We are also a party, and may become a party, to other lawsuits brought by or against insurance carriers, and by other individual plaintiffs and/or putative classes, as well as other parties. We cannot at this time predict or reasonably estimate the potential cumulative outcomes or ranges of possible liability of these Bethpage lawsuits.

In June 2018, the FTC issued a Decision and Order enabling the company’s acquisition of OATK to proceed and providing generally for the company to continue to make solid rocket motors available to competing missile primes on a non-discriminatory basis. The company has taken and continues to take robust actions to help ensure compliance with the terms of the Order. Similarly, the Compliance Officer, appointed under the Order, and the FTC have taken and continue to take various actions to oversee compliance. In October 2019, the company received a civil investigative demand (CID) from the FTC requesting certain information relating to a potential issue regarding the company’s compliance with the Order in connection with a then pending missile competition. The company promptly provided information in response to the request. In late 2021, the company resumed discussions with staff at the FTC regarding our response and their views on compliance issues. More recently, the company received and is responding to a follow-on CID. We cannot predict the outcome of those discussions, but we do not believe they are likely to have a material adverse effect on the company’s consolidated financial position as of December 31, 2022, or its annual results of operations and/or cash flows. We believe the company has been and continues to be in compliance with the Order.

On December 9, 2022, the company received from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a criminal subpoena seeking information regarding financial and cost accounting and controls that appears focused on the interest rate

assumptions the company used to determine our CAS pension expense, which we have previously discussed in Note 12 below. The company has begun discussions with DOJ regarding the scope of the subpoena and is preparing to respond to it. We cannot at this point predict the outcome of this matter.

The company is a party to various other investigations, lawsuits, arbitration, claims, enforcement actions and other legal proceedings, including government investigations and claims, that arise in the ordinary course of our business. The nature of legal proceedings is such that we cannot assure the outcome of any particular matter. However, based on information available to the company to date, the company does not believe that the outcome of any of these other matters pending against the company is likely to have a material adverse effect on the company’s consolidated financial position as of December 31, 2022, or its annual results of operations and/or cash flows.