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Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Contingencies | Contingencies Indemnifications In conjunction with certain acquisition and divestiture transactions, the Company may agree to make payments to compensate or indemnify other parties for possible future unfavorable financial consequences resulting from specified events (e.g., breaches of contract obligations or retention of previously existing environmental, tax or employee liabilities) whose terms range in duration and often are not explicitly defined. Where appropriate, the obligation for such indemnifications is recorded as a liability. Because the amount of these types of indemnifications generally is not specifically stated, the overall maximum amount of the obligation under such indemnifications cannot be reasonably estimated. Further, the Company indemnifies its directors and officers for claims against them in connection with their positions with the Company. Historically, any such costs incurred to settle claims related to these indemnifications have been minimal for the Company. The Company believes that future payments, if any, under all existing indemnification agreements would not have a material impact on its consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Asbestos Litigation The Company (including its subsidiaries) has been named as a defendant in a number of asbestos-related lawsuits. Certain of these lawsuits relate to a business which was acquired by the Company and do not involve products which were manufactured or sold by the Company. In connection with these lawsuits, the seller of such business has agreed to indemnify the Company against these claims (the “Indemnified Claims”). The Indemnified Claims have been tendered to, and are being defended by, such seller. The seller has met its obligations, in all respects, and the Company does not have any reason to believe such party would fail to fulfill its obligations in the future. To date, no judgments have been rendered against the Company as a result of any asbestos-related lawsuit. The Company believes that it has good and valid defenses to each of these claims and intends to defend them vigorously. Environmental Matters Certain historic processes in the manufacture of products have resulted in environmentally hazardous waste by-products as defined by federal and state laws and regulations. At December 31, 2020, the Company is named a Potentially Responsible Party (“PRP”) at 13 non-AMETEK-owned former waste disposal or treatment sites (the “non-owned”sites). The Company is identified as a “de minimis” party in 12 of these sites based on the low volume of waste attributed to the Company relative to the amounts attributed to other named PRPs. In eight of these sites, the Company has reached a tentative agreement on the cost of the de minimis settlement to satisfy its obligation and is awaiting executed agreements. The tentatively agreed-to settlement amounts are fully accrued. In the other four sites, the Company is continuing to investigate the accuracy of the alleged volume attributed to the Company as estimated by the parties primarily responsible for remedial activity at the sites to establish an appropriate settlement amount. At the remaining site where the Company is a non-deminimis PRP, the Company is participating in the investigation and/or related required remediation as part of a PRP Group and reserves have been established sufficient to satisfy the Company’s expected obligations. The Company historically has resolved these issues within established reserve levels and reasonably expects this result will continue. In addition to these non-owned sites, the Company has an ongoing practice of providing reserves for probable remediation activities at certain of its current or previously owned manufacturing locations (the “owned” sites). For claims and proceedings against the Company with respect to other environmental matters, reserves are established once the Company has determined that a loss is probable and estimable. This estimate is refined as the Company moves through the various stages of investigation, risk assessment, feasibility study and corrective action processes. In certain instances, the Company has developed a range of estimates for such costs and has recorded a liability based on the best estimate. It is reasonably possible that the actual cost of remediation of the individual sites could vary from the current estimates and the amounts accrued in the consolidated financial statements; however, the amounts of such variances are not expected to result in a material change to the consolidated financial statements. In estimating the Company’s liability for remediation, the Company also considers the likely proportionate share of the anticipated remediation expense and the ability of the other PRPs to fulfill their obligations. Total environmental reserves at December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $32.4 million and $28.9 million, respectively, for both non-owned and owned sites. In 2020, the Company recorded $9.2 million in reserves. Additionally, in 2020 the Company spent $5.6 million on environmental matters and the reserve decreased $0.1 million due to foreign currency translation. The Company’s reserves for environmental liabilities at December 31, 2020 and 2019 included reserves of $7.4 million and $9.0 million, respectively, for an owned site acquired in connection with the 2005 acquisition of HCC Industries (“HCC”). The Company is the designated performing party for the performance of remedial activities for one of several operating units making up a Superfund site in the San Gabriel Valley of California. The Company has obtained indemnifications and other financial assurances from the former owners of HCC related to the costs of the required remedial activities. The Company has agreements with other former owners of certain of its acquired businesses, as well as new owners of previously owned businesses. Under certain of the agreements, the former or new owners retained, or assumed and agreed to indemnify the Company against, certain environmental and other liabilities under certain circumstances. The Company and some of these other parties also carry insurance coverage for some environmental matters. To date, these parties have met their obligations in all material respects. The Company believes it has established reserves for the environmental matters described above, which are sufficient to perform all known responsibilities under existing claims and consent orders. The Company has no reason to believe that other third parties would fail to perform their obligations in the future. In the opinion of management, based on presently available information and the Company’s historical experience related to such matters, an adequate provision for probable costs has been made and the ultimate cost resulting from these actions is not expected to materially affect the consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows of the Company. The Company has been remediating groundwater contamination for several contaminants, including trichloroethylene (“TCE”), at a formerly owned site in El Cajon, California. Several lawsuits have been filed against the Company alleging damages resulting from the groundwater contamination, including property damages and personal injury, and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. While the Company believes that it has good and valid defenses to each of these claims and intends to defend them vigorously if pursued through trial, the parties agreed to terms to globally settle the cases. After extensive negotiations, the Company entered into a global settlement of these lawsuits for an aggregate amount of $6.8 million, for which the Company had previously established reserves sufficient to cover this settlement. The global settlement is subject to court approval in two class action cases.

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