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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

18. Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is involved in various legal actions arising out of the normal course of business, which, taking into account the liabilities accrued and legal counsel’s evaluation of such actions, in the opinion of management, the ultimate resolution of all matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

As of December 31, 2019, various product-related lawsuits were pending. To the extent permitted under applicable law, all of these are insured with self-insurance retention levels. The Company’s self-insurance retention levels vary by business, and have fluctuated over the last 10 years. The high-end of the Company’s self-insurance retention level is a legacy product liability insurance program inherited in the Grove acquisition for cranes manufactured in the United States for occurrences from January 2000 through October 2002. As of December 31, 2019, the largest self-insured retention level for new occurrences currently maintained by the Company is $2.0 million per occurrence and applies to product liability claims for cranes manufactured in the United States.

Product liability reserves are recorded as current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2019 and 2018 and were $12.8 million and $16.3 million, respectively. These reserves were estimated using a combination of actual case reserves and actuarial methods. Based on the Company’s experience in defending product liability claims, management believes the current reserves are adequate for estimated case resolutions on aggregate self-insured claims and insured claims. Any recoveries from insurance carriers are dependent upon the legal sufficiency of claims and solvency of insurance carriers.

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had reserved $48.6 million and $38.5 million, respectively, for warranty claims included in product warranties and other non-current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Certain of these warranty and other related claims involve matters in dispute that ultimately are resolved by negotiation, arbitration, or litigation. See Note 19, “Guarantees,” for further information.

The Company is involved in numerous lawsuits involving asbestos-related claims in which the Company is one of numerous defendants. After taking into consideration legal counsel’s evaluation of such actions, the current political environment with respect to asbestos related claims, and the liabilities accrued with respect to such matters, in the opinion of management, ultimate resolution is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company.

In 2019, the Company settled a legal matter which resulted in a net $24.4 million gain. The Company recorded this settlement by recognizing income of $15.5 million in other income (expense) and a benefit of $8.9 million in engineering, selling and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2019.

It is reasonably possible that the estimates for warranty costs, product liability, asbestos-related claims and other various legal matters may change in the near future based upon new information that may arise or matters that are beyond the scope of the Company’s historical experience. Presently, there are no reliable methods to estimate the amount of any such potential changes.