Disputes, Litigation and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Disputes, Litigation and Contingencies

12 – Disputes, Litigation and Legal Contingencies

We are subject to lawsuits and claims arising out of the nature of our business. We have certain claims, disputes and pending litigation for which we do not believe a negative outcome is probable or for which we can only estimate a range of liability. It is possible, however, that an unexpected judgment could be rendered against us, or we could decide to resolve a case or cases, which would result in a liability that could be uninsured and beyond the amounts we currently have reserved and in some cases those losses could be material. If one or more negative outcomes were to occur relative to these cases, the aggregate impact to our financial condition could be material.

GAMCO Shareholder Litigation

On September 6, 2019, GAMCO Asset Management, Inc. (“GAMCO”), purportedly on behalf of itself and other similarly situated shareholders, filed a lawsuit asserting violations of the federal securities laws against certain then-current and former officers and directors of the Company. GAMCO alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and violations of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) based on allegations that the Company and certain of its officers made false and/or misleading statements, and alleged non-disclosure of material facts, regarding our business, operations, prospects and performance. GAMCO sought damages on behalf of purchasers of the Company’s ordinary shares from October 26, 2016, through May 10, 2019. GAMCO’s lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, and it is captioned GAMCO Asset Management, Inc. v. McCollum, et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-03363. The District Court Judge appointed Utah Retirement Systems (“URS”) as Lead Plaintiff, and on March 16, 2020, URS filed its Amended Complaint. URS added the Company as a defendant but dropped the claims against non-officer board members and all the claims under the Securities Act. The defendants filed their motion to dismiss on May 18, 2020, and the Court granted the motion on May 14, 2021. URS appealed the Court’s Opinion on Dismissal to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

On December 14, 2023, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision from the trial court dismissing plaintiffs’ claims.