Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 10 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

• On March 29, 2016, a former local sales representative in Chile, Aquavant, S.A., filed a claim on the basis of unjust enrichment against Ormat’s subsidiaries in the 27th Civil Court of Santiago, Chile. The claim requests that the court order Ormat to pay Aquavant $4.6 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 case was removed from the original court and then refiled before the 11th Civil Court of Santiago. On April 16, 2020, the 11th Civil Court of Santiago issued its order rejecting Plaintiff's principal claim of unjust enrichment, as an improper cause of action, rejecting plaintiff's secondary claim for declaratory judgment, which the Court associates with the principal claim of unjust enrichment and not relating to a number of defenses raised by the Company. In May 2020, each of the parties filed separately to the court of appeals, which are pending. On October 19, 2020, the Court of Appeals dismissed all ancillary appeals on procedural issues filed by Aquavant as well as two ancillary appeals on procedural issues filed by the Company. The Company believes it has strong legal defenses and the probability of the claimant receiving an award is low. The potential amount that the Company may bear in this context cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

• On March 3, 2021, a claim and motion to certify a class action was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court (Economic Division) on behalf of Avishai Shmuel Mano against Ormat Technologies Inc. and 23 additional named respondents, who include existing and former directors and officers of the Company. On July 1, 2021, the court accepted plaintiff's motion to withdraw the claim against the named foreign respondents, retaining only the claim against the Company and the named present and former directors and officers who are domiciled in Israel. The claim seeks economic damages of approximately $100 million purportedly caused to shareholders by defendants’ alleged inaccurate reporting and provision of misleading information to the public in breach of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, based on claims made in a report published by short-seller Hindenburg Research on March 1, 2021. On April 13, 2022, the Tel Aviv District Court approved the plaintiff’s motion to withdraw the motion to certify and Ormat will pay immaterial costs of less than $10 thousand.

• On September 14, 2021, an arbitration was filed on behalf of Kipreos before CAM Santiago, an electrical works subcontractor who had been hired to perform certain works at the Cerro Pabellon III Project for the recovery of alleged unpaid amounts in the approximate sum of $5.1 million. The Company believes it has strong legal defenses against the claim and the probability of the claimant receiving an award as requested is low. The potential amount that the Company may bear in this context cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

• On December 15, 2021, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe (the “Plaintiffs”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the State of Nevada against the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management (“the BLM”) and Jake Vialpando, in his official capacity as a field manager of the BLM, alleging that the defendants violated the National Environmental Protection Act and other federal laws by approving Ormat’s Dixie Meadows project and the associated environmental assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (“FONSI”). Plaintiffs additionally alleged that the project threatens the Dixie Valley Toad and infringes on the tribe’s enjoyment of a religious sacred site. Plaintiffs sought for the court to vacate and set aside the environmental assessment, FONSI and the BLM’s authorizations for the project and to enjoin project construction. Ormat intervened in the action on January 4, 2022. On January 14, 2022, the court granted a temporary, 90-day injunction pausing construction of the project while it ruled on the merits of the case. The Ninth Circuit subsequently set aside the temporary injunction, pending a hearing on June 15, 2022, and construction began in February 2022. On August 1, 2022, the Ninth Circuit issued an order in Ormat’s favor, affirming the District Court’s ruling that an injunction after 90-days was not warranted. On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (“FWS”) emergency listed the Dixie Valley Toad under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (the “ESA”). On July 6, 2022 Plaintiffs amended their complaint to add causes of action related to the ESA listing against Ormat. The Company is currently working with the BLM and FWS in the Section 7 Consultation process including discussion and identification of potential additional mitigation measures, and has agreed to temporarily pause construction of the facility until (1) the FWS issues a Biological Opinion for the Project, or (2) December 31, 2022, whichever is sooner. The Company believes it has strong legal defenses against the present claims, however, there can be no assurances regarding the resolution of these proceedings. Any additional construction delays imposed by the court, any mitigation or other measures arising from the Dixie Valley Toad’s emergency listing or any combination thereof could cause the Company to incur additional project costs, delay or impede the completion of the project and thus the eventual generation of revenues from the project and/or result in the renegotiation of the PPA for the project on less favorable terms. As a result, at this time, the Company cannot reasonably predict the ultimate outcome of this litigation or estimate the possible loss or range of loss it may bear, if any. As of June 30, 2022, the aggregated net book value of the Dixie Meadows project was approximately $56.1 million, which was included under "construction-in-process" in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

In 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 the Company's 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.

Other matters

On March 2, 2021, the Company's board of directors established a special committee of independent directors (the "Special Committee") to investigate, among other things, certain claims made in a report published by a short seller regarding the Company’s compliance with anti-corruption laws. The Special Committee is working with outside legal counsel to investigate the claims made. All members of the Special Committee are “independent” in accordance with the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, the NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to boards of directors in general. The Company is also providing information as requested by the SEC and Department of Justice ("DOJ") related to the claims.