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Contingent Liabilities
9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2011
Contingent Liabilities [Abstract]  
CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
NOTE 14 — CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
Various lawsuits, claims and proceedings have been or may be instituted or asserted against the Company, including those pertaining to environmental, product liability and safety and health matters. While the amounts claimed may be substantial, the ultimate liability cannot now be determined because of considerable uncertainties that exist. Therefore, it is possible that results of operations or liquidity in a particular period could be materially affected by certain contingencies.
In accordance with ASC 450, “Contingencies”, the Company accrues for a litigation-related liability when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Based on currently available information known to the Company, the Company believes that its reserves for these litigation-related liabilities are reasonable and that the ultimate outcome of any pending matters is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results from operations.
Environmental Reserves
At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, the Company had recorded liabilities of $25.9 million and $26.2 million, respectively, for estimated environmental remediation costs. The liabilities were recorded on an undiscounted basis and are included in other long-term liabilities. At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, the Company had recorded environmental liability reserves of $14.0 million and $14.5 million, respectively, for its blending facility in Chicago, Illinois and $10.2 million and $10.3 million, respectively, for various European drum facilities acquired in November 2006 as well as the facility in Lier, Belgium. These reserves are principally based on environmental studies and cost estimates provided by third parties, but also take into account management estimates.
The estimated liabilities are reduced to reflect the anticipated participation of other potentially responsible parties in those instances where it is probable that such parties are legally responsible and financially capable of paying their respective shares of relevant costs. For sites that involve formal actions subject to joint and several liabilities, these actions have formal agreements in place to apportion the liability.
The Company anticipates that cash expenditures in future periods for remediation costs at identified sites will be made over an extended period of time. Given the inherent uncertainties in evaluating environmental exposures, actual costs may vary from those estimated at July 31, 2011. The Company’s exposure to adverse developments with respect to any individual site is not expected to be material. Although environmental remediation could have a material effect on results of operations if a series of adverse developments occur in a particular quarter or year, the Company believes that the chance of a series of adverse developments occurring in the same quarter or year is remote. Future information and developments will require the Company to continually reassess the expected impact of these environmental matters.