12. Contingencies

Asbestos

The Company is a defendant in numerous lawsuits alleging bodily injury and death as a result of exposure to asbestos. From 1948 to 1958, one of the Company's former business units commercially produced and sold approximately $40 million of a high-temperature, calcium-silicate based pipe and block insulation material containing asbestos. The Company exited the insulation business in April 1958. The typical asbestos personal injury lawsuit alleges various theories of liability, including negligence, gross negligence and strict liability and seeks compensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages in various amounts (herein referred to as "asbestos claims").

The following table shows the approximate number of plaintiffs and claimants who had asbestos claims pending against the Company at the beginning of each listed year, the number of claims disposed of during that year, the year’s filings and the claims pending at the end of each listed year (eliminating duplicate filings):


	2015	2014	2013
Pending at beginning of year	2,260	2,620	2,610
Disposed	1,460	1,830	1,700
Filed	1,280	1,470	1,710
Pending at end of year	2,080	2,260	2,620

Based on an analysis of the lawsuits pending as of December 31, 2015, approximately 82% of plaintiffs either do not specify the monetary damages sought, or in the case of court filings, claim an amount sufficient to invoke the jurisdictional minimum of the trial court. Approximately 11% of plaintiffs specifically plead damages above the jurisdictional minimum up to, and including, $15 million or less, and 7% of plaintiffs specifically plead damages greater than $15 million but less than or equal to $100 million.

As indicated by the foregoing summary, current pleading practice permits considerable variation in the assertion of monetary damages. The Company’s experience resolving hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims and lawsuits over an extended period demonstrates that the monetary relief alleged in a complaint bears little relevance to a claim’s merits or disposition value. Rather, the amount potentially recoverable is determined by such factors as the severity of the plaintiff’s asbestos disease, the product identification evidence against the Company and other defendants, the defenses available to the Company and other defendants, the specific jurisdiction in which the claim is made, and the plaintiff’s medical history and exposure to other disease-causing agents.

In addition to the pending claims set forth above, the Company has claims-handling agreements in place with many plaintiffs’ counsel throughout the country. These agreements require evaluation and negotiation regarding whether particular claimants qualify under the criteria established by such agreements. The criteria for such claims include verification of a compensable illness and a reasonable probability of exposure to a product manufactured by the Company's former business unit during its manufacturing period ending in 1958.

The Company has also been a defendant in other asbestos-related lawsuits or claims involving maritime workers, medical monitoring claimants, co-defendants and property damage claimants. Based upon its past experience, the Company believes that these categories of lawsuits and claims will not involve any material liability and they are not included in the above description of pending matters or in the following description of disposed matters.

Since receiving its first asbestos claim, the Company as of December 31, 2015, has disposed of the asbestos claims of approximately 396,000 plaintiffs and claimants at an average indemnity payment per claim of approximately $9,200. Certain of these dispositions have resulted in deferred amounts payable. Deferred amounts payable totaled approximately $17 million at December 31, 2015 ($13 million at December 31, 2014) and are included in the foregoing average indemnity payment per claim. The Company’s asbestos indemnity payments have varied on a per claim basis, and are expected to continue to vary considerably over time. Asbestos-related cash payments for 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $138 million, $148 million, and $158 million, respectively.

As discussed above, the Company’s objective is to achieve, where possible, resolution of asbestos claims pursuant to claims-handling agreements. Failure of claimants to meet certain medical and product exposure criteria in the Company’s administrative claims handling agreements has generally reduced the number of claims that would otherwise have been received by the Company in the tort system. In addition, certain court orders and legislative acts have reduced or eliminated the number of claims that the Company otherwise would have received by the Company in the tort system. These developments generally have had the effect of increasing the Company’s per-claim average indemnity payment over time.

The Company believes that its ultimate asbestos-related liability (i.e., its indemnity payments or other claim disposition costs plus related legal fees) cannot reasonably be estimated. Beginning with the initial liability of $975 million established in 1993, the Company has accrued a total of approximately $4.6 billion through 2015, before insurance recoveries, for its asbestos-related liability. The Company’s ability to reasonably estimate its liability has been significantly affected by, among other factors, the volatility of asbestos-related litigation in the United States, the significant number of co-defendants that have filed for bankruptcy, the inherent uncertainty of future disease incidence and claiming patterns against the Company, the significant expansion of the defendants that are now sued in this litigation, and the continuing changes in the extent to which these defendants participate in the resolution of cases in which the Company is also a defendant.

The Company continues to monitor trends that may affect its ultimate liability and analyze the developments and variables likely to affect the resolution of pending and future asbestos claims against the Company. The material components of the Company’s accrued liability are determined by the Company in connection with its annual comprehensive legal review and consist of the following estimates, to the extent it is probable that such liabilities have been incurred and can be reasonably estimated: (i) the liability for asbestos claims already asserted against the Company; (ii) the liability for asbestos claims not yet asserted against the Company, but which the Company believes will be asserted in the next four years; and (iii) the legal defense costs estimated to be incurred in connection with the claims already asserted and those claims the Company believes will be asserted in the next four years.

As noted above, the Company conducts a comprehensive legal review of its asbestos-related liabilities and costs annually in connection with finalizing and reporting its annual results of operations, unless significant changes in trends or new developments warrant an earlier review. If the results of an annual comprehensive legal review indicate that the existing amount of the accrued liability is insufficient to cover its reasonably estimable asbestos-related costs, then the Company records an appropriate charge to increase the accrued liability. As part of the annual comprehensive legal review, the Company considers the factors that affect its estimated accrued liability, and reconsiders the timeframe used to estimate the liability for asbestos claims not yet asserted against the Company using primarily a qualitative assessment of the state of the asbestos litigation, as well as a quantitative hindsight review. The hindsight review includes an examination of the Company’s prior estimates of the accrual for unasserted claims compared to the estimated value of claims actually received in those periods.

Based on its 2015 comprehensive legal review, the Company determined that it was able to reasonably estimate probable losses for asbestos claims not yet asserted against the Company for a period of four years. Therefore, the Company’s charge for 2015 is for a period one year longer than the accrual period determined as reasonably estimable in the annual comprehensive legal reviews conducted since 2003. This is a change in estimate resulting from an assessment of the qualitative and quantitative factors in the Company’s 2015 comprehensive legal review. The Company will continue to evaluate the qualitative factors relating to the litigation and also conduct its annual hindsight reviews to determine the appropriate period of time for which it can reasonably estimate probable losses for unasserted claims. Because part of the Company’s asbestos liability at any year end is an estimate of the asbestos claims and legal defense costs that are expected to be incurred in the time horizon for which it is able to reasonably estimate probable losses, the Company usually expects to record an annual charge to account for the inclusion of one or more additional years in its time horizon.

The Company’s reported results of operations for 2015 were materially affected by the $225 million fourth quarter charge for asbestos-related costs and asbestos-related payments continue to be substantial. Given the inherent volatility involved in the asbestos litigation, the Company is unable to provide an estimate of possible loss or range of loss beyond the $522 million recorded as of December 31, 2015. Any future additional charge would likewise materially affect the Company’s results of operations for the period in which it is recorded.

Other Matters

The Company conducted an internal investigation into conduct in certain of its overseas operations that may have violated the anti-bribery provisions of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions, the Company’s own internal policies, and various local laws. In October 2012, the Company voluntarily disclosed these matters to the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

On July 18, 2013, the Company received a letter from the DOJ indicating that it presently did not intend to take any enforcement action and is closing its inquiry into the matter.

As disclosed in previous periods, the Company is presently unable to predict the duration, scope or result of an investigation by the SEC, if any, or whether the SEC will commence any legal action. The SEC has a broad range of civil sanctions under the FCPA and other laws and regulations including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, disgorgement, penalties, and modifications to business practices. The Company could also be subject to investigation and sanctions outside the United States. While the Company is currently unable to quantify the impact of any potential sanctions or remedial measures, it does not expect such actions will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s liquidity, results of operations or financial condition.

Other litigation is pending against the Company, in many cases involving ordinary and routine claims incidental to the business of the Company and in others presenting allegations that are non-routine and involve compensatory, punitive or treble damage claims as well as other types of relief. The Company records a liability for such matters when it is both probable that the liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. Recorded amounts are reviewed and adjusted to reflect changes in the factors upon which the estimates are based, including additional information, negotiations, settlements and other events.