Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is obligated under various operating leases for office and manufacturing space, machinery, and equipment. Future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable capital and operating leases (with initial or remaining lease terms in excess of one year) as of December 31 are as follows:



	Capital		Operating	Total Future Payments
2019	$	1,494	116,110	117,604
2020	1,195		93,724	94,919
2021	766		66,129	66,895
2022	562		42,247	42,809
2023	555		22,207	22,762
Thereafter	3,215		26,097	29,312
Total payments	7,787		366,514	374,301
Less amount representing interest	1,123
Present value of capitalized lease payments	$	6,664

Rental expense under operating leases was $143,513, $145,176 and $125,103 in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

The Company had approximately $54,591 and $56,267 in standby letters of credit for various insurance contracts and commitments to foreign vendors as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively that expire within two years.

The Company is involved in litigation from time to time in the regular course of its business. Except as noted below and in Note 13-Income Taxes Belgian Tax Matter, there are no material legal proceedings pending or known by the Company to be contemplated to which the Company is a party or to which any of its property is subject.

Alabama Municipal Litigation

In September 2016, the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Gadsden, Alabama (the “Gadsden Water Board”) filed an individual complaint in the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama against certain manufacturers, suppliers, and users of chemicals containing specific perfluorinated compounds, including the Company. On October 26, 2016, the defendants removed the case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Middle Division, alleging diversity of citizenship and fraudulent joinder. The Gadsden Water Board filed a motion to remand the case back to the state court, and the defendants opposed the Gadsden Water Board’s motion. The federal court granted Gadsden Water Board’s motion for remand.

In May, 2017, the Water Works and Sewer Board of the Town of Centre, Alabama (the “Centre Water Board”) filed a very similar complaint to the Gadsden Water Board complaint in the Circuit Court of Cherokee County. On June 19, 2017, the defendants removed this case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Middle Division, again alleging diversity of citizenship and fraudulent joinder. The Centre Water Board filed a motion to remand the case back to state court, and the defendants opposed the Centre Water Board’s motion. The federal court granted Centre Water Board's motion for remand.

Certain defendants, including the Company, filed dispositive motions in each case arguing that the state court lacks personal jurisdiction over them. Both state courts denied those motions. In June and September 2018, certain defendants, including the Company, petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court for Writs of Mandamus directing each lower court to enter an order granting the defendants’ dispositive motions on personal jurisdiction grounds. Those petitions have been fully briefed and the Company awaits a decision from the Alabama Supreme Court.

The Company has never manufactured the perfluorinated compounds at issue but purchased them for use in the manufacture of its carpets prior to 2007. The Gadsden and Centre Water Boards are not alleging that chemical levels in the Company’s wastewater discharge exceeded legal limits. Instead, the Gadsden and Centre Water Boards are seeking lost profits based on allegations that their customers decreased water purchases, as well as reimbursement for the cost of a filter and punitive damages.

General

The Company believes that adequate provisions for resolution of all contingencies, claims and pending litigation have been made for probable losses that are reasonably estimable. These contingencies are subject to significant uncertainties and we are unable to estimate the amount or range of loss, if any, in excess of amounts accrued. The Company does not believe that the ultimate outcome of these actions will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition but could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, cash flows or liquidity in a given quarter or year.

The Company is subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing air emissions, wastewater discharges, the use, storage, treatment, recycling and disposal of solid and hazardous materials and finished product, and the cleanup of contamination associated therewith. Because of the nature of the Company’s business, the Company has incurred, and will continue to incur, costs relating to compliance with such laws and regulations. The Company is involved in various proceedings relating to environmental matters and is currently engaged in environmental investigation, remediation and post-closure care programs at certain sites. The Company has provided accruals for such activities that it has determined to be both probable and reasonably estimable. The Company does not expect that the ultimate liability with respect to such activities will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition but could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, cash flows or liquidity in a given quarter or year.