LAWSUITS, CLAIMS, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

LAWSUITS, CLAIMS, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

LAWSUITS, CLAIMS, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 7LAWSUITS, CLAIMS, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

We, or certain of our subsidiaries, are involved, in the normal course of business, in lawsuits, environmental and other claims and other contingencies that seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, breach of contract, property damage or other losses, punitive damages, civil penalties, or injunctive or declaratory relief.

The previously disclosed purported class action against us relating to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 was dismissed in April 2017.

We accrue reserves for currently outstanding lawsuits, claims and proceedings when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the liability can be reasonably estimated.  Reserve balances at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were not material to our balance sheets as of such dates.  We also evaluate the amount of reasonably possible losses that we could incur as a result of these matters.  We believe that reasonably possible losses that we could incur in excess of reserves accrued on our balance sheet would not be material to our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

We, our subsidiaries, or both, have indemnified various parties against specific liabilities those parties might incur in the future in connection with the Spin-off, purchases and other transactions that they have entered into with us.  These indemnities include indemnities made to Occidental against certain tax-related liabilities that may be incurred by Occidental relating to the Spin-off and liabilities related to operation of our business while it was still owned by Occidental.  As of March 31, 2017, we are not aware of material indemnity claims pending or threatened against the company.

We are currently under examination by the Internal Revenue Service for our U.S. federal income tax return for the post-Spin-off period in 2014 and calendar year 2015.  No significant issues have been raised to date.  State returns for these years remain subject to examination.