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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 28, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
From time to time in the regular course of its business, the Company is involved in various lawsuits, claims, investigations and other legal matters. Except as noted below, 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.

Perfluorinated Compounds (“PFCs”) Litigation

In December 2019, Jarrod Johnson filed a putative class action against certain manufacturers, suppliers, and users of chemicals containing certain perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the Superior Court of Floyd County, Georgia purporting to represent all water subscribers with the Rome (Georgia) Water and Sewer Division and/or the Floyd County (Georgia) Water Department seeking to recover, among other things, damages in the form of alleged increased rates and surcharges incurred by ratepayers for the costs associated with eliminating certain PFCs from their drinking water, as well as injunctive relief. The defendants removed the class action to federal court. The Company has filed a motion for summary judgment and that motion is pending before the court.

In April 2023, Shelby County, Alabama and Talladega County, Alabama filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama against certain manufacturers, suppliers, and users of chemicals containing certain PFCs, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief and claiming that their water supplies contain excessive amounts of PFCs. The Company moved to dismiss all claims, and the Court agreed to dismiss certain claims on September 9, 2024. The Company believes the allegations are without merit and continues to vigorously defend against claims relating to its prior use of certain PFCs in the carpet manufacturing process.

Securities Actions

The Company and certain of its present and former executive officers were named as defendants in certain investor actions, filed in the State Court of Fulton County of the State of Georgia on April 22, 2021 and April 23, 2021. The claims alleged include fraud, negligent misrepresentation, violations of the Georgia Securities Act, and violations of the Georgia Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations statute. Plaintiffs in the investor actions seek compensatory and punitive damages. On October 5, 2021, the investor actions were transferred by the State Court of Fulton County to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division. On October 4, 2023, plaintiffs filed amended complaints in the remaining four investor actions. On April 12, 2024, the Company and the individual defendants filed motions for summary judgment in each investor action. The Company believes the claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against the claims in these actions.

The Company and certain of its executive officers and directors were named as defendants in certain derivative actions filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on May 18, 2020 and August 6, 2020, respectively (the “NDGA Derivative Actions”), in the Superior Court of Gordon County of the State of Georgia on March 3, 2021 and July 12, 2021, and in the Delaware Court of Chancery on March 10, 2022. The complaints allege that defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by causing the Company to issue materially false and misleading statements. On December 20, 2023, plaintiffs in the NDGA Derivative Actions filed an amended complaint. On February 9, 2024, the Company and the individual defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On June 28, 2024, the parties in the NDGA Derivative Actions informed the Court that they believed they had reached agreement on the structure of a settlement of the NDGA Derivative Actions. On October 1, 2024, the Court in the NDGA Derivative Actions directed the parties to either file a proposed motion for settlement agreement or other case status report on or before October 31, 2024. The Company believes the claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against the claims.
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 the Company is 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 acknowledges that it could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, cash flows or liquidity in a given quarter or year.