Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Contingencies

The legal matters discussed below and others could result in losses, including damages, fines, civil penalties and criminal charges, which could be substantial. The Company records accruals for these contingencies to the extent the Company concludes that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. Regarding the matters disclosed below, unless otherwise disclosed, the Company has determined that liabilities associated with these legal matters are reasonably possible; however, unless otherwise stated, the possible loss or range of possible loss cannot be reasonably estimated. Given the nature of the litigation and investigations and the complexities involved, the Company is unable to reasonably estimate a possible loss for all such matters until the Company knows, among other factors the following:

•what claims, if any, will survive dispositive motion practice;

•the extent of the claims, particularly when damages are not specified or are indeterminate;

•how the discovery process will affect the litigation;

•the settlement posture of the other parties to the litigation; and

•any other factors that may have a material effect on the litigation or investigation.

However, the Company could incur judgments, enter into settlements or revise its expectations regarding the outcome of certain matters, and such developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations in the period in which the amounts are accrued and/or liquidity in the period in which the amounts are paid.

Securities and Exchange Commission and United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois Investigations

In September 2020, the Company entered into agreements with the SEC and the USAO to resolve the investigations into the Company’s past revenue recognition practices. Under the settled administrative order with the SEC, the Company committed to remediate the deficiencies in its internal control over financial reporting that constituted material weaknesses identified in its 2017 Form 10-K filed in May 2019 by April 30, 2021 unless an extension was provided by the SEC. On April 12, 2021, the SEC granted the Company’s request for an extension of time until March 31, 2022 in which to comply with the requirements of

the administrative order to remediate the remaining outstanding material weaknesses. Due to the progress achieved in remediating the material weaknesses, in March 2022 the Company formally requested an additional extension from the SEC. To the extent that the Company’s request for an extension from the SEC, or other actions are not successful and completed in accordance with the provisions of the settlement with the SEC and USAO, the Company may be required to incur additional time and expense towards further remediation efforts and incremental substantive procedures, which could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations. In addition, failure to comply with the provisions of the settlement agreements with the SEC and USAO could result in further actions by one or both governmental agencies which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations.

Jerome Treadwell v. the Company     

In October 2018, a putative class-action complaint was filed against the Company and NOVAtime Technology, Inc. (“NOVAtime”) in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. In December 2018, NOVAtime removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division under the Class Action Fairness Act. Plaintiff has since voluntarily dismissed NOVAtime from the lawsuit without prejudice and filed an amended complaint in April 2019. The operative, amended complaint asserts violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in connection with employees’ use of the time clock to clock in and clock out using a finger scan and seeks statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive and equitable relief. An aggrieved party under BIPA may recover (i) $1,000 per violation if the Company is found to have negligently violated BIPA or (ii) $5,000 per violation if the Company is found to have intentionally or recklessly violated BIPA plus reasonable attorneys’ fees. In May 2019, the Company filed its motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s amended complaint. In December 2019, the court denied the Company’s motion to dismiss. In January 2020, the Company moved for reconsideration of the court’s order denying the motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, to stay the case pending the Illinois Appellate Court’s ruling in McDonald v. Symphony Healthcare on a legal question that would be potentially dispositive in this matter. In February 2020, the court denied the Company’s motion for reconsideration, but required the parties to submit additional briefing on the Company’s motion to stay. In April 2020, the court granted the Company’s motion to stay and stayed the case pending the Illinois Appellate Court’s ruling in McDonald v. Symphony Healthcare. In October 2020, after the McDonald ruling, the court granted the parties’ joint request to continue the stay of the case for 60 days. The court also ordered the parties to schedule a settlement conference with the Magistrate Judge in May 2021 which went forward without a settlement being reached. The stay remains in place pending further guidance from the Court. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had recorded an estimated liability of $0.3 million, recorded within Other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet related to the settlement of this matter, related to the potential settlement of this matter.                

Mast Powertrain v. the Company

In February 2020, the Company received a demand for arbitration from Mast Powertrain, LLC (“Mast”) pursuant to a development agreement entered into in November 2011 (the “Development Agreement”). Mast claimed that it is owed more than $9.0 million in past royalties and other damages for products sold by the Company pursuant to the Development Agreement. The Company disputed Mast’s damages, denied that any royalties are owed to Mast, denied any liability, and counterclaimed for overpayment on invoices paid to Mast. Mast subsequently clarified its claim for past royalties owed to be approximately $4.5 million. In July 2021, the Company reached a settlement with Mast to resolve past claims for royalties owed for $1.5 million which the Company had previously recorded within Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Statement of Operations for the year-ended December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had recognized a liability of $0.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively, within Other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet related to the settlement of this matter. In addition, the Company entered into an agreement with Mast under which Mast will provide various technical services.

Gary Winemaster Litigation v. The Company

In August 2021, the Company’s former Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer and President, Gary Winemaster (“Winemaster”) filed suit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against the Company and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America (“Travelers”) alleging the Company’s breach of its advancement obligations under Winemaster’s indemnification agreement and Travelers’ breach of the side A policy between Traveler’s and the Company of which Winemaster is a beneficiary. In his complaint, Winemaster is seeking reimbursement under his indemnification agreement in excess of $7.2 million of attorney’s fees plus interest incurred by Winemaster in his defense of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) case, U.S. v. Winemaster et al.. Since the filing of the complaint, Travelers has paid approximately $7.5 million to Winemaster’s attorneys, Latham and Watkins, under the Company’s side A policy to settle existing outstanding attorney’s fees. The Company expects Travelers to seek reimbursement from it for those costs pursuant to the terms of the side A policy. In October 2021, the Company and Gary Winemaster entered into a Stipulation and Advancement Order to handle all future attorney’s fees relating to his DOJ case and his pending SEC case, SEC v. Winemaster et al. to the extent not reimbursed by Travelers under the side A policy.

Jeffrey Ehlers and Rick Lulloff Litigation

In September 2021 Jeffrey Ehlers and Rick Lulloff (“Lulloff”), former employees of the Company, made demand against the Company for approximately $2.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively, for alleged wages due and owing under each employee’s employment contract related to “Incentive Bonuses” for revenues generated in the Company’s transportation end market. In November 2021, Lulloff and Ehlers separately filed complaints against the Company in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, alleging breach of contract and violations of the Illinois Wage and Payment Collection Act incorporating their claims in the above referenced demand letter. The Company filed a notice of removal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois and have also moved to consolidate the cases which is still being considered. Given the preliminary stage of the matter, the Company cannot predict the outcome of this matter, the reasonable possibility or range of loss, or meaningfully quantify how the final resolution of this matter may impact its results of operations, financial condition or cash flow and therefore no accrual has been made as of December 31, 2021

Indemnification Agreements

Under the Company’s bylaws and certain indemnification agreements, the Company has obligations to indemnify current and former officers and directors and certain current and former employees. As a result of cumulative legal fees and settlements previously paid, the Company fully exhausted its primary directors’ and officers’ insurance coverage of $30.0 million during the first quarter of 2020. Additional expenses currently expected to be incurred and that will occur in the future and/or liabilities that may be imposed in connection with actions against certain of the Company’s past directors and officers and certain former employees who are entitled to indemnification will be funded by the Company with its existing cash resources. The Company accrues for such costs as incurred within Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $15.7 million of costs related to these indemnification obligations and $7.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. Included in the total indemnification obligations incurred for the year ended December 31, 2021 are costs of $9.8 million that the Company incurred on behalf of Gary Winemaster, former Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer and President, who is also a related party. For the year ended December 31, 2020 these costs were $3.6 million.

In June 2020, the Company entered into a new directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy, which was renewed in June 2021. The insurance policy includes standard exclusions including for any ongoing or pending litigation such as the previously disclosed investigations by the SEC and USAO.

Other Commitments

At December 31, 2021, the Company had five outstanding letters of credit totaling $2.1 million. The letters of credit primarily serve as collateral for the Company for certain facility leases and insurance policies. As discussed in Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Other Information, the Company had restricted cash of $3.5 million at December 31, 2021 related to these letters of credit.

The Company has arrangements with certain suppliers that require it to purchase minimum volumes or be subject to monetary penalties. As discussed in Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Other Information, oil prices have increased from their lows reached in April 2020. However, U.S. rig counts have been slower to return and average rig counts remain significantly below the full year average during 2019. Meanwhile, capital spending within the U.S. oil markets remains well below 2019 levels. This has impacted the demand for the Company’s products sold into the oil and gas market. Based on current and forecasted demand of the Company’s products, and the significant lead time for the Company to order and acquire certain materials, the Company does not expect to meet the minimum purchase commitment for 2021 related to one of its supply agreements and recorded an expense of $1.6 million within Cost of sales in the Consolidated Statement of Operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.