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Contingencies (Notes) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | Contingencies In November 2012, Chart Energy & Chemicals Inc. (“CEC”), a subsidiary of the Company, filed a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (the “Federal Court”) seeking a judgment that certain claims for damages alleged by Enogex Holdings LLC, Enogex Gathering & Processing, LLC and affiliated companies with respect to a December 2010 fire at the Enogex natural gas processing plant in Cox City, Oklahoma were barred based on multiple defenses, including Oklahoma's statute of repose. This action was precipitated by the receipt of a letter from Enogex alleging that CEC was responsible for damages in excess of $75,000 with respect to the fire as a result of the alleged failure of CEC's equipment that was a component of the unit involved in the fire. Subsequent to the filing of CEC's declaratory judgment action, in December 2012, Enogex filed suit in the District Court of Tulsa County, State of Oklahoma (the “State Court”) against the Company, CEC and its predecessors, a former employee of a predecessor of CEC, as well as other entities and an individual not affiliated with the Company, formalizing the allegations and claims contained in the November demand letter. Each party filed one or more motions to dismiss the other's lawsuit. Enogex's motion to dismiss initially was denied by the Federal Court in February 2013, but Enogex moved for rehearing on its motion to dismiss, which the Federal Court granted on May 17, 2013 based on a lack of jurisdictional diversity. The Company's and CEC's motions to dismiss were denied by the State Court on April 10, 2013. Accordingly, litigation continues in the State Court, and Enogex has asserted damages in excess of $135,000, including investigation and repair costs and business interruption losses, some of which may be offset by Enogex's saved costs and mitigation efforts. The Company continues to believe that the allegations against the Company, CEC and their affiliates lack merit. The Company believes that it, CEC and their affiliates have strong factual and legal defenses to Enogex's claims and intends to vigorously assert such defenses. Accordingly, a n accrual related to any damages that may result from the lawsuit has not been recorded because a potential loss is not currently probable. Furthermore, the Company believes that its existing product liability insurance is adequate for potential losses associated with these claims. While the Company cannot predict with certainty the ultimate result of these proceedings, the Company does not believe that the final outcome of these proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.25) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6449706&loc=d3e16207-108621 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6398077&loc=d3e12565-110249 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14435-108349 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6394976&loc=d3e25287-109308 + Details
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