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Legal Proceedings and Other Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Legal Proceedings and Other Contingencies
OTE 11. Legal Proceedings and Other Contingencies

Various legal actions, claims, assessments and other contingencies arising in the ordinary course of business are pending against GATX and certain of our subsidiaries. These matters are subject to many uncertainties, and it is possible that some of these matters could ultimately be decided, resolved or settled adversely. For a full discussion of our pending legal matters, please refer to "Note 22. Legal Proceedings and Other Contingencies" of our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Viareggio Derailment

In June 2009, a train consisting of fourteen liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) tank cars owned by GATX Rail Austria GmbH and its subsidiaries (collectively, “GRA”) derailed while passing through the City of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Italy. Five tank cars overturned and one of the overturned cars was punctured by a peg or obstacle along the side of the track, resulting in a release of LPG, which subsequently ignited. The accident resulted in multiple deaths, personal injuries and property damage. The LPG tank cars were leased to FS Logistica S.p.A., a subsidiary of the Italian state-owned railway, Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A (the “Italian Railway”).

On December 14, 2012, the prosecutors for Lucca charged the Italian Railway, GRA, and a number of their maintenance, operations, and managerial employees with various negligence-based crimes related to the accident. A trial was held in the court of Lucca and, on January 31, 2017, the court announced guilty verdicts against various Italian Railway companies, GRA, and certain of their employees. The court imposed a fine of 1.4 million Euros against GRA and prison sentences against the employees. GRA disagrees with the trial court’s ruling and believes that the evidence shows it and its employees acted diligently and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations at all times. On October 14, 2017, GRA filed its appeal of the trial court’s ruling with the Court of Appeal in Florence (Corte d’Appello di Firenze) and, pending the final disposition of the appeal, these fines and penalties are not enforceable.

With respect to civil claims, the insurers for the Italian Railway and GRA have fully settled and resolved most of the claims arising out of the accident. With respect to unsettled claims, the Lucca court ordered all convicted defendants (including various Italian Railway entities and GRA) to pay final damages or advances to the remaining 56 claimants. The amount of these awards is immaterial and GRA expects that its insurers will continue to cover most of these damages to claimants except for a small number of civil claims. GRA will continue to incur legal expenses for the criminal appeals although they are not expected to be material. We cannot predict the outcome of the appeals process and thus cannot reasonably estimate the possible amount or range of costs that may be ultimately incurred in connection with this litigation.