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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES The Company is involved in various litigation, claims and administrative proceedings, including those related to environmental (including asbestos) and legal matters. In accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies, the Company records accruals for loss contingencies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are generally based upon a range of possible outcomes. If no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the Company accrues the minimum amount. In addition, these estimates are reviewed periodically and adjusted to reflect additional information when it becomes available. The Company is unable to predict the final outcome of the following matters based on the information currently available, except as otherwise noted. However, the Company does not believe that the resolution of any of these matters will have a material adverse effect upon its results of operations or financial condition. Environmental Matters The Company’s operations are subject to environmental regulation by various authorities. The Company has accrued for the costs of environmental remediation activities, including but not limited to investigatory, remediation, operating and maintenance costs and performance guarantees. The most likely cost to be incurred is accrued based on an evaluation of currently available facts with respect to individual sites, including the technology required to remediate, current laws and regulations and prior remediation experience. The outstanding liabilities for environmental obligations are as follows:
(In millions) |  | June 30, 2024 |  | December 31, 2023
Environmental reserves included in Accrued liabilities |  | $ | 16 |  |  | $ | 21 |
Environmental reserves included in Other long-term liabilities |  | 200 |  |  | 203 |
Total Environmental reserves |  | $ | 216 |  |  | $ | 224 |
For sites with multiple responsible parties, the Company considers its likely proportionate share of the anticipated remediation costs and the ability of other parties to fulfill their obligations in establishing a provision for these costs. Accrued environmental liabilities are not reduced by potential insurance reimbursements and are undiscounted. Asbestos Matters The Company has been named as a defendant in lawsuits alleging personal injury as a result of exposure to asbestos allegedly integrated into certain Carrier products or business premises. While the Company has never manufactured asbestos and no longer incorporates it into any currently-manufactured products, certain products that the Company no longer manufactures contained components incorporating asbestos. A substantial majority of these asbestos-related claims have been dismissed without payment or have been covered in full or in part by insurance or other forms of indemnity. Additional cases were litigated and settled without any insurance reimbursement. The amounts involved in asbestos-related claims were not material individually or in the aggregate in any period. The Company's asbestos liabilities and related insurance recoveries are as follows:
(In millions) |  | June 30, 2024 |  | December 31, 2023
Asbestos liabilities included in Accrued liabilities |  | $ | 16 |  |  | $ | 15 |
Asbestos liabilities included in Other long-term liabilities |  | 201 |  |  | 206 |
Total Asbestos liabilities |  | $ | 217 |  |  | $ | 221 |
Asbestos-related recoveries included in Other current assets |  | $ | 5 |  |  | $ | 5 |
Asbestos-related recoveries included in Other assets |  | 86 |  |  | 88 |
Total Asbestos-related recoveries |  | $ | 91 |  |  | $ | 93 |
The amounts recorded for asbestos-related liabilities are based on currently available information and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable and are made with input from outside actuarial experts. These amounts are undiscounted and exclude the Company’s legal fees to defend the asbestos claims, which are expensed as incurred. In addition, the Company has recorded insurance recovery receivables for probable asbestos-related recoveries. Aqueous Film Forming Foam Litigation As of June 30, 2024, the Company, KFI and others have been named as defendants in more than 8,500 lawsuits filed by individuals in or removed to the federal courts of the United States alleging that the historic use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam ("AFFF") caused personal injuries and/or property damage. The Company, KFI and others have also been named as defendants in more than 800 lawsuits filed by several U.S. states, municipalities and water utilities in or removed to U.S. federal courts alleging that the historic use of AFFF caused contamination of property and water supplies. In December 2018, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred and consolidated all AFFF cases pending in the U.S. federal courts against the Company, KFI and others to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (the "MDL Proceedings"). The individual plaintiffs in the MDL Proceedings generally seek damages for alleged personal injuries, medical monitoring, diminution in property value and injunctive relief to remediate alleged contamination of water supplies. The U.S. state, municipal and water utility plaintiffs in the MDL Proceedings generally seek damages and costs related to the remediation of public property and water supplies. AFFF is a firefighting foam, developed beginning in the late 1960s pursuant to U.S. military specification, used to extinguish certain types of hydrocarbon-fueled fires. The lawsuits identified above relate to Kidde Fire Fighting, Inc., which owned the National Foam business. Kidde Fire Fighting, Inc. was acquired by a UTC subsidiary in 2005 and merged into KFI in 2007. The National Foam business manufactured AFFF for sale to government (including the U.S. federal government) and non-government customers in the U.S. at a single facility located in West Chester, Pennsylvania (the "Pennsylvania Site"). In 2013, KFI divested the AFFF businesses to an unrelated third party. The Company acquired KFI as part of the Separation in April 2020. The key components that contribute to AFFF's fire-extinguishing capabilities are known as fluorosurfactants. Neither the Company, nor KFI, nor any of the Company's subsidiaries involved in the AFFF litigation manufactured fluorosurfactants. Instead, the National Foam business purchased these substances from unrelated third parties for use in manufacturing AFFF. Plaintiffs in the MDL Proceedings allege that the fluorosurfactants used by various manufacturers in producing AFFF contained, or over time degraded into, compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (referred to collectively as "PFAS"), including perflourooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS") and perflourooctanoic acid ("PFOA"). Plaintiffs further allege that, as a result of the use of AFFF, PFOS and PFOA were released into the environment and, in some instances, ultimately reached drinking water supplies. Plaintiffs in the MDL Proceedings allege that PFOS and PFOA contamination has resulted from the use of AFFF manufactured using a process known as ECF, and that this process was used exclusively by 3M. They also allege that PFOA contamination has resulted from the use of AFFF manufactured using a different process, known as telomerization, and that this process was used exclusively by the other AFFF manufacturers (including the National Foam business). Compounds containing PFOS and PFOA (as well as many other PFAS) have also been used for decades by many third parties in a number of different industries to manufacture firefighters’ protective outerwear, carpets, clothing, fabrics, cookware, food packaging, personal care products, cleaning products, paints, varnishes and other consumer and industrial products. Plaintiffs in the MDL Proceedings have named multiple defendants, including suppliers of chemicals and raw materials used to manufacture fluorosurfactants, fluorosurfactant manufacturers and AFFF manufacturers. The defendants in the MDL Proceedings moved for summary judgment on the government contractor defense, which potentially applies to AFFF sold to or used by the U.S. government. After full briefing and oral argument, on September 16, 2022, the MDL court declined to enter summary judgment for the defendants. The defense, however, remains available at any trial to which it applies. On September 23, 2022, after completion of discovery, the MDL court selected one water provider case, the City of Stuart, FL v. 3M, et al., for a bellwether trial. That trial was scheduled to begin in early June 2023 but was postponed indefinitely. The MDL court ordered that the bellwether process for personal injury cases to begin in 2023. However, the court has not yet outlined details on that process or its timing. Outside of the MDL Proceedings, the Company and other defendants also are party to six lawsuits in U.S. state courts brought by oil refining companies alleging product liability claims related to legacy sales of AFFF and seeking damages for the costs to replace the product and for property damage. In addition, the Company and other defendants are party to two actions related to the Pennsylvania Site in which the plaintiff water utility company seeks remediation costs related to the alleged contamination of the local water supply. The Company, KFI and other defendants are also party to one action in Arizona state court brought by a firefighter claiming that occupational exposure to AFFF has caused certain personal injuries. The Company and KFI believe that they have meritorious defenses to the claims in the MDL Proceedings and the other AFFF lawsuits. Given the numerous factual, scientific and legal issues to be resolved relating to these claims, the Company is unable to assess the probability of liability or to reasonably estimate a range of possible loss at this time. There can be no assurance that any such future exposure will not be material in any period. On May 14, 2023, KFI filed a voluntary petition with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code after the Company determined that it would not provide financial support to KFI going forward, other than ensuring KFI has access to services necessary for the effective operation of its business. As a result, all litigation against KFI is automatically stayed. KFI filed an adversary complaint and motion in the Chapter 11 case seeking an order staying or enjoining all AFFF-related litigation against the Company, its other subsidiaries and RTX. That motion was resolved through an agreement that effectively stays the AFFF litigation against these parties. KFI has also indicated to the bankruptcy court that it intends to pursue insurance coverage for AFFF-related liabilities and contractual indemnification for AFFF-related liabilities from the third party to which KFI sold National Foam. On November 21, 2023, the bankruptcy court ordered certain parties, including the Company, to participate in a mediation with respect to claims that might be asserted by and against it in the bankruptcy proceedings. The parties have engaged in several mediation sessions and anticipate further sessions in the future. The terms and scope of any potential settlement may be affected by, among other factors, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., which held that nonconsensual releases of litigation claims against non-debtors are unavailable. Deconsolidation Due to Bankruptcy As of May 14, 2023, the Company no longer controlled KFI as their activities are subject to review and oversight by the bankruptcy court. Therefore, KFI was deconsolidated and their respective assets and liabilities were derecognized from the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Upon deconsolidation, the Company determined the fair value of its retained interest in KFI to be zero and will account for it prospectively using the cost method. As a result of these actions, the Company recognized a loss of $297 million in its Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations within Other income/(expense), net. In addition, the deconsolidation resulted in an investing cash outflow of $134 million in the Company's Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. In connection with the bankruptcy filing, KFI entered into several agreements with subsidiaries of the Company to ensure they have access to services necessary for the effective operation of their business. All post-deconsolidation activity between the Company and KFI are reported as third-party transactions recorded within the Company's Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. Since the petition date, there were no material transactions between the Company and KFI other than a $15 million payment by the Company to KFI under the terms of a tax sharing arrangement. On March 15, 2024, the Company and Pacific Avenue Capital Partners entered into certain agreements including a stock and asset purchase agreement whereby Pacific Avenue Capital Partners shall acquire certain assets and operating liabilities of KFI, subject to approval by the bankruptcy court. On April 1, 2024, the bankruptcy court subsequently approved the sale, which was completed on July 1, 2024 for $140 million, subject to working capital and other adjustments as provided in the sale agreement. However, there has been no determination with respect to the allocation of sale proceeds. Income Taxes Under the TMA relating to the Separation, the Company is responsible to UTC for its share of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act transition tax associated with foreign undistributed earnings as of December 31, 2017. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recognized a $46 million gain associated with the TMA and UTC's conclusion of certain income tax matters from their 2017 and 2018 tax audit with the IRS. Liabilities under the TMA of $118 million and $108 million are included within the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet within Accrued Liabilities and Other Long-Term Liabilities as of June 30, 2024, respectively. This obligation is expected to be settled in annual installments with the next installment of $118 million due in April 2025 and the final installment due in April 2026. The Company believes that the likelihood of incurring losses materially in excess of this amount is remote. Other The Company has other commitments and contingent liabilities related to legal proceedings, self-insurance programs and matters arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company accrues for contingencies generally based upon a range of possible outcomes. If no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the Company accrues the minimum amount. In the ordinary course of business, the Company is also routinely a defendant in, party to or otherwise subject to many pending and threatened legal actions, claims, disputes and proceedings. These matters are often based on alleged violations of contract, product liability, warranty, regulatory, environmental, health and safety, employment, intellectual property, tax and other laws. In some of these proceedings, claims for substantial monetary damages are asserted against the Company and could result in fines, penalties, compensatory or treble damages or non-monetary relief. The Company does not believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect upon its results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

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