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Litigation and Environmental Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Litigation and Environmental Contingencies
Litigation and Environmental Contingencies
Litigation
We are involved in various legal proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of doing business and believe that adequate reserves have been established for any probable losses. We do not believe that the outcome of any of these proceedings should have a significant adverse effect on our financial position, long-term results of operations or cash flows. It is possible, however, that charges related to these matters could be significant to our results or cash flows in any one accounting period.
On October 4, 2014, James Huffman, a former director and CEO of CREDO Petroleum Corporation (Credo), which we acquired in 2012 and is now known as Forestar Petroleum Corporation, filed Huffman vs. Forestar Petroleum Corporation, Case Number 14CV33811, Civ. Div., Dist. Ct., City and County of Denver, Colorado, claiming entitlement to certain overriding royalty interests under a Credo compensation program. In third quarter 2016, we settled a portion of the case for $150,000 and accrued an additional $1,100,000 following an adverse jury verdict in Huffman's favor in regard to the portion of his claim related to past damages. In fourth quarter 2016, following additional rulings by the court, we accrued an additional $1,890,000 representing our estimate of future damages to which Huffman is entitled plus interest and costs, resulting in a total accrual of $2,990,000 at year-end 2016. The case was settled for the amount of accrual.
Environmental
Environmental remediation liabilities arise from time to time in the ordinary course of doing business, and we believe we have established adequate reserves for any probable losses that we can reasonably estimate. In 2016, we sold all but 25 of our 289 acres near Antioch, California, approximately 80 acres of which had not yet received a certificate of completion under the voluntary remediation program in which we were participating. The buyer of the former paper manufacturing sites assumed responsibility for environmental, remediation and monitoring activities, subject to limited exclusions, and obtained a $20,000,000, ten year pollution legal liability insurance policy naming us as an additional insured.
We have asset retirement obligations related to the abandonment and site restoration requirements that result from the acquisition, construction and development of oil and gas properties. We record the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred and a corresponding increase in the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset. Accretion expense related to the asset retirement obligation and depletion expense related to capitalized asset retirement cost are included in cost of mineral resources and cost of oil and gas producing activities in discontinued operations on our consolidated statements of income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss). At year-end 2016, our asset retirement obligation was $103,000, which is included in liabilities held for sale. In addition, at year-end 2016, we have accrued $1,155,000 related to potential environmental liabilities to plug and abandon certain oil and gas wells in Wyoming which is included in liabilities of discontinued operations.