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Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Notes to Financial Statements  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]
NOTE
10
— COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 
 
Jon Olson and Hilary Wilt, together with Puna Pono Alliance filed a complaint on
February 17, 2015
in the Third Circuit Court for the State of Hawaii, requesting declaratory and injunctive relief requiring that Puna Geothermal Venture comply with an ordinance that the plaintiffs allege will prohibit PGV from engaging in night drilling operations at its KS-
16
well site. On
May 17, 2015,
the original complaint was amended to add the County of Hawaii and the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources as defendants to the case. On
October 10, 2016,
the court issued its decision in response to each of the plaintiffs
’ and defendants’ motions for summary judgment, denying plaintiffs’ motion and granting defendant PGV's and the County of Hawaii’s cross motions for summary judgment, effectively rendering the plaintiffs’ action moot. On
January 23, 2017,
the plaintiffs filed a motion requesting that the Intermediate Court of Appeals address appellate jurisdiction, which was denied by the court on
April 20, 2017
as premature. The Company believes that it has valid defenses under law, and intends to defend itself vigorously.
 
 
On
July 8, 2014,
Global Community Monitor, LiUNA, and
two
residents of Bishop, California filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleging that Mammoth Pacific, L.P., the Company and Ormat Nevada are operating
three
geothermal generating plants in Mammoth Lakes, California (MP-
1,
MP-II and PLES-I) in violation of the federal Clean Air Act and Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District rules. On
June 26, 2015,
in response to a motion by the defendants, the court dismissed all but
one
of the plaintiffs
’ causes of action. On
January 6, 2017,
the court issued its order regarding several pending motions, including plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment, defendants' motion for summary judgment, defendants' motion to exclude and defendants' motion for leave to file a sur-reply. The impact of the court’s
January 6, 2017
order is to deny the plaintiffs’ sole remaining cause of action.
No
appeal by the plaintiffs is expected and the company considers this case to be effectively closed.
 
 
On
March 29, 2016,
a former local sales representative in Chile, Aquavant, S.A., filed a claim against Ormat
’s subsidiaries in the
27
th
Civil Court of Santiago, Chile on the basis of unjust enrichment. The claim requests that the court order Ormat to pay Aquavant
$4.8
million in connection with its activities in Chile, including the EPC contract for the Cerro Pabellon project and various geothermal concessions, plus
3.75%
of Ormat geothermal products sales in Chile over the next
10
years. Pursuant to various motions submitted by the defendants and the plaintiffs to various courts, including the Court of Appeals, the
11th
Civil Court of Santiago, rather than the
27th
Civil Court, was found to be the competent court. Plaintiffs appealed to the
11th
Civil Court to accept the case as it stood for continued review although
not
submitted to that court originally, but the court denied the plaintiffs’ request. The Company believes that it has valid defenses under law, and intends to defend itself vigorously.
 
 
On
August 5, 2016,
George Douvris, Stephanie Douvris, Michael Hale, Cheryl Cacocci, Hillary E. Wilt and Christina Bryan, acting for themselves and on behalf of all other similarly situated residents of the lower Puna District, filed a complaint in the Third Circuit Court for the State of Hawaii seeking certification of a class action for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, consequential and punitive damages, attorney
’s fees and statutory interest against PGV and other presently unknown defendants. On
December 12, 2016,
the federal district court granted plaintiffs’ motion for joinder of HELCO as a co-defendant, and the case, which had previously been removed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, was remanded back to the Third Circuit Court. The amended complaint alleged that injuries and other damages in an undisclosed amount were caused to the plaintiffs as a result of an alleged toxic release by PGV in the wake of Hurricane Iselle in
August 2014.
On
June 14, 2017,
the Third Circuit Court denied HELCO’s motion to dismiss the complaint against HELCO. Discovery is underway. The Company believes that it has valid defenses under law, and intends to defend itself vigorously.
 
 
On
June 20, 2016,
Nadia Garcia, individually and as successor in interest to Thomas Garcia Valenzuela, and as guardian ad litem to Emerie Garcia, Khamilla Garcia and Reyene Adam, filed a complaint against Ormat Technologies, Ormat Nevada and Ormesa LLC in the Superior Court of Imperial County seeking unspecified monetary damages. The complaint alleges that the Ormat defendants caused the wrongful death, personal injury and other harm to Thomas Garcia when he was employed by Martin Hydroblasting Services, Inc. and suffered injuries leading to his death while performing work at the Ormesa plant site on or around
March 31, 2016.
The plaintiffs and the deceased's employer
’s insurer reached an out of court settlement that was approved by the US District Court, Southern District of California, and executed
May 25, 2017.
The case has been dismissed, without liability to the Company.
 
I
n addition, from time to time, the Company is named as a party to various other lawsuits, claims and other legal and regulatory proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. These actions typically seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, breach of contract, property damage, punitive damages, civil penalties or other losses, or injunctive or declaratory relief. With respect to such lawsuits, claims and proceedings, the Company accrues reserves when a loss is probable and the amount of such loss can be reasonably estimated. It is the opinion of the Company’s management that the outcome of these proceedings, individually and collectively, will
not
be material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements as a whole.