Commitments and contingent liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and contingent liabilities

Commitments and contingent liabilities

Environmental: We are subject to contingencies as a result of environmental laws and regulations that in the future may require us to take further action to correct the effects on the environment of prior disposal practices or releases of chemical or petroleum substances by us or other parties. Much of this liability results from the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, often referred to as Superfund, the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and similar state laws. These laws require us to undertake certain investigative and remedial activities at sites where we conduct or once conducted operations or at sites where Company-generated waste was disposed.

Remediation activities vary substantially in duration and cost from site to site. The nature of these activities, and their associated costs, depend on the mix of unique site characteristics, evolving remediation technologies, the regulatory agencies involved and their enforcement policies, as well as the presence or absence of other potentially responsible parties. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, we have recorded $2.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively, in accrued liabilities and $3.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively in other liabilities relating to these matters. Considerable uncertainty exists with respect to these liabilities, and if adverse changes in circumstances occur, potential liability may exceed the amount accrued as of December 31, 2022. The time frame over which the accrued amounts may be paid out, based on past history, is estimated to be 10-15 years.

Legal matters: We are a party to various lawsuits and claims arising in the normal course of business. These lawsuits and claims include actions involving product liability, intellectual property, employment, environmental and other matters. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we have recorded accrued liabilities of $0.5 million and $0.2 million, respectively, in connection with such contingencies, representing our best estimate of the cost within the range of estimated possible losses that will be incurred to resolve these matters.

In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice through the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia (collectively, the “DOJ”) closed the Civil Investigative Demand (a “CID”) of one of our subsidiaries, NeoTract, Inc., under the civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §3729. The CID, which began in 2020, related to the DOJ’s investigation of a single NeoTract customer and certain rebate programs offered to that customer in addition to communications and activities occurring both prior to our acquisition of NeoTract in October 2017 and thereafter. As part of the investigation the DOJ also opened an investigation into NeoTract’s operations broadly.

Based on information currently available, advice of counsel, established reserves and other resources, we do not believe that the outcome of any outstanding litigation and claims is likely to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. However, in the event of unexpected further developments, it is possible that the ultimate resolution of these matters, or other similar matters, if unfavorable, may be materially adverse to our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Legal costs such as outside counsel fees and expenses are charged to selling, general and administrative expenses in the period incurred.

Other: We have been subject to an investigation by Chinese authorities related to a technical error regarding our country of origin designation for certain products we imported into China. Had the error not been made, we would have been obligated to make increased tariff payments in late 2018 through the first quarter of 2021. In addition to the tariffs and related interest, the Chinese authorities may impose a penalty for the unpaid tariffs.

To date, we have remitted payment for the requested amounts of the increased tariffs, and we believe this to be the final action required to close the case. However, we have not received confirmation from the Chinese authorities that the case is closed and as a result, it remains possible that they may request payment for penalties and interest in the future. We believe the range of penalties could be between 30% and 200% of the increased tariff amount or between $3 million and $20 million.

In 2015, the Italian parliament enacted legislation that, among other things, imposed a “payback” measure on medical device companies that supply goods and services to the Italian National Healthcare System. Under the measure, companies are required to make payments to the Italian government if medical device expenditures in a given year exceed regional expenditure ceilings established for that year. The payment amounts are calculated based on the amount by which the regional ceilings for the given year were exceeded. Considerable uncertainty exists related to the enforceability of and implementation process for the payback law. In response to decrees issued by the Italian Ministry of Health, the various Italian regions issued invoices to medical device companies, including Teleflex, under the payback measure in the fourth quarter of 2022 seeking payment with respect to excess expenditures for the years 2015 through 2018. Following the issuance of the invoices, we and numerous other medical device companies filed appeals with the Italian administrative courts challenging the enforceability of the payback measure, which appeals remain pending. As of December 31, 2022, our reserve for this matter is $10.9 million, $2.6 million of which was recorded as a reduction of revenue for 2022. If the payback was to ultimately be enforced in its existing form, we estimate that we would be required to remit payments in excess of our current reserve of up to $23.0 million.