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CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS | CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS General Numerous claims, complaints and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business have been asserted or are pending against us or certain of our subsidiaries (collectively, “claims”). These claims relate to litigation matters (e.g., class actions, derivative lawsuits and contracts, intellectual property and competitive claims), environmental matters, product liability matters (which, prior to the Asbestos Portfolio Sale, were predominately associated with alleged exposure to asbestos-containing materials), and other risk management matters (e.g., general liability, automobile, and workers’ compensation claims). Additionally, we may become subject to other claims of which we are currently unaware, which may be significant, or the claims of which we are aware may result in our incurring significantly greater loss than we anticipate. While we (and our subsidiaries) maintain property, cargo, auto, product, general liability, environmental, and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and have acquired rights under similar policies in connection with acquisitions that we believe cover a significant portion of these claims, this insurance may be insufficient or unavailable (e.g., in the case of insurer insolvency) to protect us against potential loss exposures. Also, while we believe we are entitled to indemnification from third parties for some of these claims, these rights may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against potential loss exposures. Our recorded liab ilities related to these matters, primarily associated with environmental matters, totaled $37.1 and $39.5 at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Of these amounts, $30.1 and $30.8 are included in “Other long-term liabilities” within our condensed consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, with the remainder included in “Accrued expenses.” The liabilities we record for these matters are based on a number of assumptions, including historical claims and payment experience. While we base our assumptions on facts currently known to us, they entail inherently subjective judgments and uncertainties. As a result, our current assumptions for estimating these liabilities may not prove accurate, and we may be required to adjust these liabilities in the future, which could result in charges to earnings. These variances relative to current expectations could have a material impact on our financial position and results of operations. Asbestos Matters As indicated in Note 1, we completed the Asbestos Portfolio Sale on November 1, 2022, which resulted in the divestiture of three wholly-owned subsidiaries that hold asbestos liabilities and certain assets, including related insurance assets. As a result of this transaction, the Company divested all obligations with respect to pending and future asbestos claims relating to these subsidiaries. During the nine months ended October 1, 2022, our payments for asbestos-related claims, net of respective insurance recoveries of $27.7, were $20.2. During the three and nine months ended October 1, 2022, we recorded charges for asbestos-related matters of $21.7 and $24.0, respectively, with $16.5 and $18.8, respectively, recorded to continuing operations and the remainder to discontinued operations. Of such charges, $21.7 (continuing operations - $16.5 and discontinued operations - $5.2) resulted from a ruling by a North Carolina trial court, during the third quarter of 2022, that certain excess insurance carriers associated with our asbestos product liability matters are not required to cover the costs of defending suits that are dismissed without an indemnity payment. Large Power Projects in South Africa Overview - Since 2008, DBT had been executing on two large power projects in South Africa (Kusile and Medupi), on which it has completed its scope of work. During that time, the business environment surrounding these projects was difficult, as DBT, along with many other contractors on the projects, experienced delays, cost over-runs, and various other challenges associated with a complex set of contractual relationships among the end customer, prime contractors, various subcontractors (including DBT and its subcontractors), and various suppliers. Since substantial completion of the works, DBT’s remaining responsibilities related largely to resolution of various claims, primarily between itself and MHI, the remaining prime contractor. As noted below, SPX and DBT entered into a Settlement Agreement with MHI during the third quarter of 2023. Prior to the Settlement Agreement, DBT had asserted claims against MHI of approximately South African Rand 1,000.0 (or $52.1) and MHI had asserted, or issued letters of intent to claim for, alleged damages against DBT. Although it was reasonably possible that some loss may have been incurred in connection with these claims (which totaled approximately South African Rand 2,815.2 or $146.5), we were unable to estimate the potential loss or range of potential loss associated with these claims due to the (i) lack of support provided by MHI for these claims; (ii) complexity of contractual relationships between the end customer, MHI, and DBT; (iii) legal interpretation of the contract provisions and application of South African law to the contracts; and (iv) unpredictable nature of any dispute resolution processes that may have occurred in connection with these claims. Prior to the Settlement Agreement, DBT had experienced success in enforcing its rights through dispute resolution processes, including favorable arbitration rulings during 2023 related to awards for (i) costs incurred in connection with delays on the Kusile project of South African Rand 126.6 (or $6.8) during the first quarter of 2023 and (ii) recovery of legal costs related to arbitration proceedings of $6.8 during the second quarter of 2023, with such amounts recorded within “Loss on disposition of discontinued operations, net of tax.” There were no rulings or awards during the third quarter of 2023. Resolution of Remaining Prime Contractor Claims - We have invested, and would have continued to invest, significant management and financial resources to defend and pursue these matters. On September 5, 2023, SPX Technologies and DBT entered into the Settlement Agreement with MHI to affect the negotiated resolution of all outstanding claims between the parties with respect to the large power projects. The Settlement Agreement provides for full and final settlement and the mutual release of all claims between the parties with respect to the projects, including any claim against SPX Technologies, Inc. as guarantor of DBT’s performance on the projects. Refer to Note 3 for additional details. Claim against Surety - On February 5, 2021, DBT received payment of $6.7 on bonds issued in support of performance by one of DBT’s subcontractors. The subcontractor maintains a right to seek recovery of such amount and, thus, the amount received by DBT has not been reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. Claim for Contingent Consideration Related to ULC Robotics (“ULC”) Acquisition In connection with our acquisition of ULC in September 2020, the seller of ULC was eligible for additional cash consideration of up to $45.0 upon achievement of certain operating and financial performance milestones. During the third quarter of 2021, we concluded that the operational and financial performance milestones noted above were not achieved and, thus, no amount is due to the seller. On August 23, 2022, the seller of ULC initiated a breach-of-contract lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York claiming that it is entitled to a portion of the additional cash consideration linked to certain operating performance milestones totaling $15.0. SPX has numerous defenses against this claim and, thus, we do not believe we have a probable loss associated with the claim. Litigation Matters We are subject to other legal matters that arise in the normal course of business. We believe these matters are either without merit or of a kind that should not have a material effect, individually or in the aggregate, on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows; however, we cannot assure you that these proceedings or claims will not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Environmental Matters Our operations and properties are subject to federal, state, local and foreign regulatory requirements relating to environmental protection. It is our policy to comply fully with all applicable requirements. As part of our effort to comply, we have a comprehensive environmental compliance program that includes environmental audits conducted by internal and external independent professionals, as well as regular communications with our operating units regarding environmental compliance requirements and anticipated regulations. Based on current information, we believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and we are not aware of any violations that could have a material effect, individually or in the aggregate, on our business, financial condition, and results of operations or cash flows. We had liabilities for site investigation and/or remediation at 17 sites that we own or control, or formerly owned and controlled, as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. In addition, while we believe that we maintain adequate accruals to cover the costs of site investigation and/or remediation, we cannot provide assurance that new matters, developments, laws and regulations, or stricter interpretations of existing laws and regulations will not materially affect our business or operations in the future. Our environmental accruals cover anticipated costs, including investigation, remediation, and maintenance of clean-up sites. Our estimates are based primarily on investigations and remediation plans established by independent consultants, regulatory agencies and potentially responsible third parties. Accordingly, our estimates may change based on future developments, including new or changes in existing environmental laws or policies, differences in costs required to complete anticipated actions from estimates provided, future findings of investigation or remediation actions, or alteration to the expected remediation plans. It is our policy to revise an estimate once the revision becomes probable and the amount of change can be reasonably estimated. We generally do not discount our environmental accruals and do not reduce them by anticipated insurance recoveries. We take into account third-party indemnification from financially viable parties in determining our accruals where there is no dispute regarding the right to indemnification. In the case of contamination at offsite, third-party disposal sites, as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we have been notified that we are potentially responsible and have received other notices of potential liability pursuant to various environmental laws at 9 sites, at which the liability has not been settled and all of which have been active in the past few years. These laws may impose liability on certain persons that are considered jointly and severally liable for the costs of investigation and remediation of hazardous substances present at these sites, regardless of fault or legality of the original disposal. These persons include the present or former owners or operators of the site and companies that generated, disposed of or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances at the site. We are considered a “de minimis” potentially responsible party at most of the sites, and we estimate that our aggregate liability, if any, related to these sites is not material to our condensed consolidated financial statements. We conduct extensive environmental due diligence with respect to potential acquisitions, including environmental site assessments and such further testing as we may deem warranted. If an environmental matter is identified, we estimate the cost and either establish a liability, purchase insurance or obtain an indemnity from a financially sound seller; however, in connection with our acquisitions or dispositions, we may assume or retain significant environmental liabilities, some of which we may be unaware. The potential costs related to these environmental matters and the possible impact on future operations are uncertain due in part to the complexity of government laws and regulations and their interpretations, the varying costs and effectiveness of various clean-up technologies, the uncertain level of insurance or other types of recovery, and the questionable level of our responsibility. We record a liability when it is both probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. In our opinion, after considering accruals established for such purposes, the cost of remedial actions for compliance with the present laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment are not expected to have a material impact, individually or in the aggregate, on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Self-insured Risk Management Matters We are self-insured for certain of our workers’ compensation, automobile, product and general liability, disability and health costs, and we believe that we maintain adequate accruals to cover our retained liability. Our accruals for risk management matters are determined by us, are based on claims filed and estimates of claims incurred but not yet reported, and generally are not discounted. We consider a number of factors, including third-party actuarial valuations, when making these determinations. We maintain third-party stop-loss insurance policies to cover certain liability costs in excess of predetermined retained amounts. This insurance may be insufficient or unavailable (e.g., because of insurer insolvency) to protect us against loss exposures.

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