Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

The Company leases many of its office facilities for various terms under long-term, noncancelable operating lease agreements. The leases expire at various dates from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2026. Future minimum lease payments are presented below (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2018	$	6,942
2019	5,298
2020	4,334
2021	2,861
2022	1,699
Thereafter	2,080
Total minimum lease payments	$	23,214

The Company recognizes rental expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The total rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $9.9 million, $10.6 million and $11.4 million, respectively and is included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.

Secured Borrowing Arrangements

Certain international subsidiaries are party to short-term secured borrowing arrangements which allow the Company to borrow against the value of a pool of current accounts receivable. The Company retains possession of the accounts receivable which are pledged as collateral. The pledged amounts are immaterial to the consolidated accounts receivable balance.

Legal Contingencies

In October 2013, the Company removed the former owner of Productions Graphics from his role as President of Productions Graphics, the Company’s French subsidiary. He had been in that role since the Company’s 2011 acquisition of Productions Graphics, a European business then principally owned by him. In December 2013, the former owner of Productions Graphics initiated a wrongful termination claim in the Commercial Court of Paris seeking approximately €0.7 million(approximately $1.0 million) in fees and damages, and this claim is currently pending. In anticipation of this claim, in November 2013, he also obtained a judicial asset attachment order in the amount of €0.7 million (approximately $1.0 million) as payment security; the attachment order was confirmed in January 2014 and the Company filed an appeal of the order. In March 2015, the appellate court ruled in the Company’s favor in the attachment proceedings, releasing all attachments. The Company disputes the allegations of the former owner of Productions Graphics and intends to vigorously defend these matters. In February 2014, based on a review the Company initiated into certain transactions associated with the former owner of Productions Graphics, the Company concluded that he had engaged in fraud by inflating the results of the Productions Graphics business in order to induce the Company to pay him €7.1 million in contingent consideration pursuant to the acquisition agreement. In light of those findings, in February 2014 the Company filed a criminal complaint in France seeking to redress the harm caused by his conduct and this proceeding is currently pending. In addition, in September 2015 the Company initiated a civil claim in the Paris Commercial Court against the former owner of Productions Graphics, seeking civil damages to redress these same harms. All of the pending civil matters have been stayed in deference to the Company's related criminal complaint. In addition to these pending matters, there may be other potential disputes between the Company and the former owner of Productions Graphics relating to the acquisition agreement. The Company had paid €5.8 million (approximately $8.0 million) in fixed consideration and €7.1 million (approximately$9.4 million) in contingent consideration to the former owner of Productions Graphics; the remaining maximum contingent consideration under the acquisition agreement was €34.5 million (approximately $37.6 million) and the Company has determined that none of this amount was earned and payable.

In January 2014, a former finance employee of Productions Graphics initiated wrongful termination and overtime claims in the Labor Court of Boulogne-Billancourt and he currently seeks damages of approximately €0.6 million (approximately $0.7 million). The Company disputes these allegations and intends to vigorously defend these matters. In addition, the Company’s criminal complaint in France, described above, seeks to redress harm caused by this former employee in light of his participation in the fraudulent transactions described above. The labor claim has been stayed in deference to the Company’s related criminal complaint.