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Contingencies and Litigation
9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Contingencies and Litigation [Abstract]  
Contingencies and Litigation
Note 16: Contingencies and Litigation

Europe value added tax:  
During fiscal 2012, the Company determined that it was not properly applying value added tax (VAT) to various cross border transactions within the Europe segment.  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company recorded costs of $10.7 to accrue for unpaid VAT and estimated interest and penalties that may be levied against the Company by taxing authorities.  During the first nine months of fiscal 2013, the Company substantially completed the registration and filing process with the applicable taxing authorities, and the Company began making payments to the applicable jurisdictions in the third quarter of fiscal 2013.  As a result, the accrual for estimated VAT exposures, including interest and penalties, was approximately $5.0 at December 31, 2012.  

Environmental: The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") has designated the Company as a potentially responsible party ("PRP") for remediation of six sites with which the Company had involvement.  These sites include: Auburn Incinerator, Inc./Lake Calumet Cluster (Illinois), Cam-Or (Indiana), a scrap metal site known as Chemetco (Illinois), Circle Environmental of Dawson (two sites: Dawson, GA and Terrell County, GA), and LWD, Inc. (Kentucky).  In addition, Modine is voluntarily participating in the care of an inactive landfill owned by the City of Trenton (Missouri).  These sites are not Company-owned and allegedly contain materials attributable to Modine from past operations.  The percentage of material allegedly attributable to Modine is relatively low.  Remediation of these sites is in various stages of administrative or judicial proceedings and includes recovery of past governmental costs and the costs of future investigations and remedial actions.  The Company accrues for costs anticipated for the remedial settlement of the sites listed above if they are probable and can be reasonably determined.  Costs anticipated for the remedial settlement of the sites listed above that are not probable or cannot be reasonably determined at this time have not been accrued; however, the Company does not believe any potential costs would be material to the Company's financial position due to Modine's relatively small portion of contributed materials.
 
The Company has recorded environmental investigation and remediation accruals for groundwater contamination at its manufacturing facility in Brazil and subsurface contamination at its former manufacturing facility in the Netherlands, along with other lesser environmental issues at certain facilities located in the United States.  These accruals generally relate to facilities where past operations followed practices and procedures that were considered acceptable under then-existing regulations, or where the Company is a successor to the obligations of prior owners and current laws and regulations require investigative and/or remedial work to ensure sufficient environmental compliance.  The accruals for these environmental matters totaled $5.7 and $6.9 at December 31, 2012 and March 31, 2012, respectively.  During the nine months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, additional reserves of $0.1 and $0.9, respectively, were recorded within selling, general and administrative expenses.  As additional information becomes available, any potential liability related to these matters will be assessed and the estimated accrual will be revised, if necessary.  Based on currently available information, Modine believes that the ultimate outcome of these matters, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position or overall trends in results of operations.  However, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable outcomes could occur, including significant monetary damages.  During fiscal 2011, one of the adjacent businesses to the Company's operation in Brazil filed suit against Modine's Brazilian subsidiary seeking remediation and certain other damages as a result of the contamination.  The Company is defending this suit and believes that the ultimate outcome of this matter will not be material.

Other litigation:  In the normal course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries are named as defendants in various other lawsuits and enforcement proceedings by private parties, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, USEPA, other governmental agencies and/or others in which claims are asserted against Modine.  In the opinion of management, the liabilities, if any, which may ultimately result from such lawsuits are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements.