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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Lease Commitments
The Company leases six Boeing 767 aircraft, airport facilities, office space, maintenance facilities and certain equipment under operating leases. In December 2012, the Company entered into agreements with the Clinton County Port Authority ("CCPA") to construct and lease an aircraft hangar in Wilmington, Ohio, adjacent to the existing aircraft maintenance facility currently leased by the Company. The Company is acting as the construction agent for the CCPA and began construction of the 100,000 square foot aircraft hangar in January 2013. While the current facility houses aircraft as large as the Boeing 767, the new hangar will provide the capability of servicing aircraft as large as a Boeing 747-400 and a Boeing 777. The hangar is anticipated to cost approximately $15.7 million and is expected to take 14 to 16 months to complete. The CCPA is financing the construction of the hangar primarily through a State of Ohio bond program and a State of Ohio loan on incremental taxes. The costs incurred to build the hangar are included in "Property and equipment" and the amounts reimbursed through the State of Ohio and the CCPA are included in "Other liabilities" on the Company's balance sheet. The Company will begin to make lease payments for the hangar directly to the trustee for the State of Ohio beginning in 2014.
Guarantees and Indemnifications
Certain leases and agreements of the Company contain guarantees and indemnification obligations to the lessor, or one or more other parties that are considered reasonable and customary (e.g. use, tax and environmental indemnifications), the terms of which range in duration and are often limited. Such indemnification obligations may continue after expiration of the respective lease or agreement.
Civil Action Alleging Violations of Immigration Laws
On December 31, 2008, a former ABX employee filed a complaint against ABX, a total of four current and former executives and managers of ABX, Garcia Labor Company of Ohio, and three former executives of the Garcia Labor companies, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The case was filed as a putative class action against the defendants, and asserts violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO). The complaint, which was later amended to include a second former employee plaintiff, seeks damages in an unspecified amount and alleges that the defendants engaged in a scheme to hire illegal immigrant workers to depress the wages paid to hourly wage employees during the period from December 1999 to January 2005.
On December 2, 2011, the plaintiffs agreed to settle this matter in exchange for the payment by ABX to plaintiffs and the putative class members of a monetary amount, which amount management believes to be less than it would have cost to defend the case at trial. The final settlement was approved by the Court on July 9, 2013 and following a 30-day appeal period during which no objections were received, the settlement funds were paid to the class administrator for distribution in accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement.
Brussels Noise Ordinance
The Brussels Instituut voor Milieubeheer ("BIM"), a governmental authority in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium that oversees the enforcement of environmental matters, imposed four separate administrative penalties on ABX in the approximate aggregate amount of €0.4 million ($0.5 million) for numerous alleged violations of an ordinance limiting the noise caused by aircraft overflying the Brussels-Capital Region (which is located near the Brussels Airport) during the period from May 2009 through December 2010. ABX has to date exhausted its appeals with respect to two of the administrative penalties.
The ordinance in question is controversial for the reason that it was adopted by the Brussels-Capital Region and is more restrictive than the noise limitations in effect in the Flemish Region, which is where the Brussels Airport is located. The ordinance is the subject of several court cases currently pending in the Belgian courts and numerous airlines have been levied fines thereunder.
Other
In addition to the foregoing matters, we are also currently a party to legal proceedings, including FAA enforcement actions, in various federal and state jurisdictions arising out of the operation of the Company's business. The amount of alleged liability, if any, from these proceedings cannot be determined with certainty; however, we believe that the Company's ultimate liability, if any, arising from the pending legal proceedings, as well as from asserted legal claims and known potential legal claims which are probable of assertion, taking into account established accruals for estimated liabilities, should not be material to our financial condition or results of operations.
Employees Under Collective Bargaining Agreements
As of September 30, 2013, the flight crewmember employees of ABX and ATI were represented by the labor unions listed below:
Airline
Labor Agreement Unit
Percentage of
the Company’s
Employees
ABX
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
14.6%
ATI
Airline Pilots Association
8.9%