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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings that are incidental to the operation of our businesses. Some of these proceedings allege damages relating to environmental exposures, intellectual property matters, copyright infringement, personal injury claims, employment and employee benefit matters, government contract issues and commercial or contractual disputes and acquisitions or divestitures. We will continue to aggressively defend all such claims. Although the ultimate outcome of any legal matter cannot be predicted with certainty, based on present information including our assessment of the merits of the particular claim, as well as our current reserves and insurance coverage, we do not expect that such legal proceedings will have a material adverse impact on our financial statements, unless otherwise noted below. Asbestos Matters Background ITT, including its subsidiary Goulds Pumps, Inc., has been joined as a defendant with numerous other companies in product liability lawsuits alleging personal injury due to asbestos exposure. These claims generally allege that certain products sold by us or our former subsidiaries prior to 1985 contained a part manufactured by a third party (e.g., a gasket) which contained asbestos. To the extent these third-party parts may have contained asbestos, it was encapsulated in the gasket (or other) material and was non-friable. As of March 31, 2014, there were approximately 51 thousand pending active claims against ITT, including Goulds Pumps, filed in various state and federal courts alleging injury as a result of exposure to asbestos. Activity related to these asserted asbestos claims during the period was as follows:
For the Three Months Ended March 31 (in thousands) | 2014 |  | 2013
Pending claims – Beginning | 79 |  |  | 96 |
New claims | 1 |  |  | 1 |
Settlements | (2 | ) |  | (2 | )
Dismissals(a) | (9 | ) |  | (5 | )
Pending claims – Ending | 69 |  |  | 90 |
Pending inactive claims(a) | 18 |  |  | 26 |
Pending active claims | 51 |  |  | 64 |
(a) | The 2013 dismissals reported in the table above include the dismissal of approximately 4 thousand claims that were considered pending inactive claims. No pending inactive claims were dismissed during the first quarter of 2014. Inactive claims represent pending claims in Mississippi filed prior to 2004, which have been excluded from our asbestos measurement because the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate a significant compensable loss. As such, management believes these claims have little-to-no value.
Frequently, plaintiffs are unable to identify any ITT or Goulds Pumps product as a source of asbestos exposure. Our experience to date is that a majority of resolved claims are dismissed without any payment from the Company. Management believes that a large majority of the pending claims have little or no value. In addition, because claims are sometimes dismissed in large groups, the average cost per resolved claim can fluctuate significantly from period to period. ITT expects more asbestos-related suits will be filed in the future, and ITT will continue to aggressively defend or seek a reasonable resolution, as appropriate. Asbestos litigation is a unique form of litigation. Frequently, the plaintiff sues a large number of defendants and does not state a specific claim amount. After filing of the complaint, the plaintiff engages defendants in settlement negotiations to establish a settlement value based on certain criteria, including the number of defendants in the case. Rarely do the plaintiffs seek to collect all damages from one defendant. Rather, they seek to spread the liability, and thus the payments, among many defendants. As a result, the Company is unable to estimate the maximum potential exposure to pending claims and claims estimated to be filed over the next 10 years. Estimating our exposure to pending asbestos claims and those that may be filed in the future is subject to significant uncertainty and risk as there are multiple variables that can affect the timing, severity, quality, quantity and resolution of claims. Any predictions with respect to the variables impacting the estimate of the asbestos liability and related asset are subject to even greater uncertainty as the projection period lengthens. In light of the uncertainties and variables inherent in the long-term projection of the Company's asbestos exposures, although it is probable that the Company will incur additional costs for asbestos claims filed beyond the next 10 years which could be material to the financial statements, we do not believe there is a reasonable basis for estimating those costs at this time. The asbestos liability and related receivables reflect management's best estimate of future events. However, future events affecting the key factors and other variables for either the asbestos liability or the related receivables could cause actual costs or recoveries to be materially higher or lower than currently estimated. Due to these uncertainties, as well as our inability to reasonably estimate any additional asbestos liability for claims which may be filed beyond the next 10 years, it is not possible to predict the ultimate cost of resolving all pending and unasserted asbestos claims. We believe it is possible that future events affecting the key factors and other variables within the next 10 years, as well as the cost of asbestos claims filed beyond the next 10 years, net of expected recoveries, could have a material adverse effect on our financial statements. Income Statement Charges In the third quarter of each year, we conduct our annual asbestos measurement with the assistance of outside consultants to review and update the underlying assumptions used in our asbestos liability and related asset estimates. In each remeasurement, the underlying assumptions are updated based on our actual experience since our previous annual remeasurement and we reassess the appropriate reference period used in determining each assumption and our expectations regarding future conditions, including inflation. As part of our ongoing review of our net asbestos exposure, each quarter we assess the most recent qualitative and quantitative data available for the key inputs and assumptions, comparing the data to the expectations on which the most recent annual liability and asset estimates were based. Based on this evaluation, the Company determined that no change in the estimate was warranted for the period ended March 31, 2014 other than the incremental accrual to maintain a rolling 10-year forecast period. The net asbestos charge for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 was $15.8 and $16.0, respectively. Changes in Financial Position The Company's estimated asbestos exposure, net of expected recoveries, for the resolution of all pending claims and claims estimated to be filed in the next 10 years was $760.2 and $746.9 as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. The following table provides a rollforward of the estimated asbestos liability and related assets for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
| Liability |  | Asset |  | Net
Balance as of December 31, 2013 | $ | 1,264.7 |  |  | $ | 517.8 |  |  | $ | 746.9 |
Asbestos provision | 18.2 |  |  | 2.4 |  |  | 15.8 |
Net cash activity | (13.3 | ) |  | (10.8 | ) |  | (2.5 | )
Balance as of March 31, 2014 | $ | 1,269.6 |  |  | $ | 509.4 |  |  | $ | 760.2 |
Current portion | $ | 84.6 |  |  | $ | 84.4 |  |  |
Noncurrent portion | $ | 1,185.0 |  |  | $ | 425.0 |  |  |
Environmental In the ordinary course of business, we are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign environmental laws and regulations. We are responsible, or are alleged to be responsible, for ongoing environmental investigation and site remediation. These sites are in various stages of investigation and/or remediation and in many of these proceedings our liability is considered de minimis. We have received notification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and from similar state and foreign environmental agencies, that a number of sites formerly or currently owned and/or operated by ITT, and other properties or water supplies that may be or have been impacted from those operations, contain disposed or recycled materials or wastes and require environmental investigation and/or remediation. These sites include instances where we have been identified as a potentially responsible party under federal and state environmental laws and regulations. The following table provides a rollforward of the estimated environmental liability and related assets for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
| Liability |  | Asset |  | Net
Balance as of December 31, 2013 | $ | 94.6 |  |  | $ | 11.7 |  |  | $ | 82.9 |
Change in estimates for pre-existing accruals: |  |  |  |  |
Continuing operations | 1.2 |  |  | 0.1 |  |  | 1.1 |
Discontinued operations | 0.6 |  |  | — |  |  | 0.6 |
Accruals added during the period for new matters | 0.1 |  |  | — |  |  | 0.1 |
Net cash activity | (3.4 | ) |  | (0.1 | ) |  | (3.3 | )
Balance as of March 31, 2014 | $ | 93.1 |  |  | $ | 11.7 |  |  | $ | 81.4 |
The following table illustrates the reasonably possible range of estimated liability, and number of active sites for environmental matters, at March 31, 2014.
Low-end estimate | $ | 72.0 |
High end estimate | $ | 163.9 |
Number of active environmental investigation and remediation sites | 56 |
As actual costs incurred at identified sites in future periods may vary from our current estimates given the inherent uncertainties in evaluating environmental exposures, management believes it is possible that the outcome of these uncertainties may have a material adverse effect on our financial statements. Other Matters The Company is involved in coverage litigation with various insurers seeking recovery of costs incurred in connection with certain environmental and product liabilities. In a suit filed in 1991, ITT Corporation, et al. v. Pacific Employers Insurance Company et al, Sup. Ct., Los Angeles County, we are seeking recovery of costs related to property damage losses due to environmental issues. Discovery, procedural matters, changes in California law, and various appeals have prolonged this case. The Company continues to seek appropriate resolution with the various defendants in the case. On February 13, 2003, we commenced an action, Cannon Electric, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., Sup. Ct., Los Angeles County, seeking recovery of costs from the same coverage referenced above but related to asbestos product liability losses. During this coverage litigation, we entered into coverage-in-place settlement agreements with ACE, Wausau and Utica Mutual dated April 2004, September 2004, and February 2007, respectively. These agreements provide specific coverage for the Company’s legacy asbestos liabilities. In the first quarter of 2012, Goulds Pumps resolved its claims against Fireman’s Fund and Continental Casualty. In January 2012, ITT and Goulds Pumps filed a putative class action suit in federal court in Connecticut against Travelers Casualty and Surety Company (ITT Corporation and Goulds Pumps Inc., v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company (f/k/a Aetna Casualty and Surety Company), (Fed Dist Ct, D. Conn., CA NO.3:12-cv-00038-RN)), alleging that Travelers is unilaterally reinterpreting language contained in older Aetna policies so as to avoid paying on asbestos claims. This action was stayed pending a decision by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in the Cannon action on interpretation of policy language. On January 29, 2014, the Superior Court issued its opinion upholding the Goulds Pumps’ claims that it is entitled to receive reimbursement from Traveler’s for asbestos claims. The Connecticut Court has now lifted the Stay and allowed the case to proceed. In 2013, the Company finalized a settlement with its insurer PEIC that resolves all outstanding issues between the Company and PEIC related to the primary policies issued by PEIC during the period from 1977 to 1985. PEIC has agreed to make structured payments overtime to a Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF) to be used for asbestos related costs. The Company continues to engage other defendants in settlement negotiations as appropriate.

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