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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 15—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation and Claims:  The Company is from time-to-time party to various lawsuits, claims and other proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of its business. With respect to all such lawsuits, claims and proceedings, the Company records a reserve when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company does not believe that the resolution of any currently pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or liquidity. However, the outcomes of any currently pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings cannot be predicted, and therefore, there can be no assurance that this will be the case.

The Company completed a bankruptcy filing of its  Koontz-Wagner subsidiary on July 11, 2018. This could require the Company to incur legal fees and other expenses related to liabilities from this bankruptcy filing. While the Company does not anticipate these liabilities will have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, cash flows and financial position, and although the statute of limitations has run on certain claims that the Chapter 7 Trustee for the Koontz-Wagner estate might assert, there can be no assurance of the outcome. The filing was for Koontz-Wagner only, not for the Company as a whole, and was completely separate and distinct from the Williams business and operations. For additional information, please refer to “Note 5—Changes in Business” to the consolidated financial statements.

The acquiror of certain assets from a former operating unit of the Company has been named as a defendant in an asbestos personal injury lawsuit and has submitted a claim for indemnification and tendered defense of the matter to the Company. The Company has assumed defense of the matter subject to a reservation of rights and objection to the claim for indemnification. Neither the Company nor its predecessors ever mined, manufactured, produced or distributed asbestos fiber, the material that allegedly caused the injury underlying this action. The Company does not expect that this claim will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or liquidity. Moreover, during 2012, the Company secured insurance coverage that will help to reimburse the defense costs and potential indemnity obligations of its former operating unit relating to these claims. The Company intends to vigorously defend all currently active actions, and it does not anticipate that this action will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or liquidity. However, the outcomes of any legal action cannot be predicted and, therefore, there can be no assurance that this will be the case.

Insurance:  The Company maintains insurance coverage for most insurable aspects of its business and operations. The Company’s insurance programs, including, but not limited to, health, general liability, and workers’ compensation, have varying coverage limits depending upon the type of insurance. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, insurance expense, including insurance premiums related to the excess claim coverage and claims incurred for continuing operations, was $6.4 million and $5.2 million, respectively.

The Company’s consolidated balance sheets include amounts representing its probable estimated liability related to insurance-related claims that are known and have been asserted against the Company, and for insurance-related claims that are believed to have been incurred but had not yet been reported as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. As of both December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company provided $0.9 million in letters of credit and provided cash collateral of $1.5 million as security for possible workers’ compensation claims.

Executive Severance: On December 31, 2022, the Company had outstanding severance arrangements with senior executives. The Company’s maximum commitment under all such arrangements, which would apply if the employees covered by these arrangements were each terminated without cause, was $6.4 million on December 31, 2022.