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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES The Company is subject to a variety of environmental laws and regulations governing discharges to air and water, the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous or solid waste materials and the remediation of contamination associated with releases of hazardous substances. The Company believes its operations currently comply in all material respects with all of the various environmental laws and regulations applicable to our business; however, there can be no assurance that environmental requirements will not change in the future or that we will not incur significant costs to comply with such requirements. Claims have been filed against the Company and certain of its affiliates in various jurisdictions across the United States by persons alleging bodily injury as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products. The vast majority of the claims are submitted to insurance carriers for defense and indemnity, or to non-affiliated companies that retain the liabilities for the asbestos-containing products at issue. We cannot, however, assure that all of these claims will be fully covered by insurance, or that the indemnitors or insurers will remain financially viable. Our ultimate legal and financial liability with respect to these claims, as is the case with other pending litigation, cannot be estimated. A limited number of claims are not covered by insurance, nor are they subject to indemnity from non-affiliated parties. Management believes that the costs of the Company’s asbestos-related cases will not be material to the Company’s overall financial position, results of operations and cash flows. During the third quarter of 2023, a competitor of the Company, Progress Rail (“Progress”), which is a Caterpillar Inc. company, sued the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware asserting antitrust, breach of contract, unfair competition law, and misrepresentation claims. The complaint challenges the Wabtec-GE Transportation merger and contends that since the merger, Wabtec has unlawfully monopolized the markets for long-haul freight locomotives, Tier IV long-haul freight locomotives, and energy management systems by, among other things, failing to ensure that Progress’ products are interoperable with Wabtec’s locomotives and cab electronics. The case is currently at an early stage. Progress seeks an order requiring Wabtec to divest GE Transportation, unspecified treble damages for its alleged lost profits from reduced sales of locomotive and cab systems, and attorneys’ fees and costs. It also asks the court to enjoin Wabtec from engaging in the conduct and require the Company to comply with its agreements with Progress. Wabtec intends to vigorously defend itself against this lawsuit and believes that it has meritorious defenses to the claims asserted by Progress. Xorail, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Xorail”), has received notices from Denver Transit Constructors (“DTC”) alleging breach of contract related to the operating of constant warning wireless crossings, and late delivery of the Train Management & Dispatch System (“TMDS”) for the Denver Eagle P3 Project, which is owned by the Denver Regional Transit District ("RTD"). No damages have been asserted for the alleged late delivery of the TMDS, and no formal claim has been filed; Xorail has successfully completed a remediation plan concerning the TMDS issues. With regard to the wireless crossing issue, as of September 8, 2017, DTC alleged that total damages were $37 million through July 31, 2017 and were continuing to accumulate. The majority of the damages stems from a delay in approval of the wireless crossing system by the Federal Railway Administration ("FRA") and the Public Utility Commission ("PUC"), resulting in the use of flaggers at all of the crossings pending approval of the wireless crossing system and certification of the crossings. DTC has alleged that the delay is due to Xorail's failure to achieve constant warning times for the crossings in accordance with the approval requirements imposed by the FRA and PUC. Xorail has denied DTC's assertions, stating that its system satisfied the contractual requirements. Xorail has worked with DTC to modify its system and implement the FRA's and PUC's previously undefined approval requirements; the FRA and PUC have both approved modified wireless crossing system, and as of August 2018, DTC completed the process of certifying the crossings and eliminated the use of flaggers. DTC has not updated its claim notices or alleged damages against Xorail, nor have they filed any formal claim against Xorail. On September 21, 2018, DTC filed a complaint against RTD in Colorado state court for breach of contract related to non-payments and the costs for the flaggers, asserting a change-in-law arising from the FRA/PUC’s new certification requirements. DTC's claim against RTD proceeded to trial on September 21, 2020. On February 10, 2023, the court issued a decision in favor of RTD, denying DTC's damages claim. DTC has filed a Notice of Appeal. From time to time the Company is involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the ordinary course of business. As of the date hereof, the Company is involved in no litigation that the Company believes will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

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