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Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure | Contingencies Environmental The Company is subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations concerning, among other matters, waste water effluents, air emissions and handling and disposal of hazardous materials such as cleaning fluids. The Company is involved with environmental compliance, investigation, monitoring and remediation activities at certain of its owned and formerly owned manufacturing facilities and at one owned facility that is leased to a third party, and, except for these continuing remediation efforts, believes it is currently in substantial compliance with all known environmental regulations. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company had undiscounted accrued environmental reserves of $3,587 and $3,871, respectively, recorded in other long-term liabilities. The Company accrues for certain environmental remediation-related activities for which commitments or remediation plans have been developed and for which costs can be reasonably estimated. These estimates are determined based upon currently available facts and circumstances regarding each facility. Actual costs incurred may vary from these estimates due to the inherent uncertainties involved. Future expenditures relating to these environmental remediation efforts are expected to be made over the next 14 years as ongoing costs of remediation programs. Although the Company believes it has adequately provided for the cost of all known environmental conditions, the applicable regulatory agencies could insist upon different and more costly remediation than those the Company believes are adequate or required by existing law or third parties may seek to impose environmental liabilities on the Company. The Company believes that any additional liability in excess of amounts accrued which may result from the resolution of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity, cash flows or results of operations. Legal Proceedings 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 of approximately $105,000, including investigation and repair costs and business interruption losses, some of which may be offset by Enogex’s saved costs and mitigation efforts. A trial is expected in late 2015 or early 2016. 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, an 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. The Company is occasionally subject to various legal actions related to performance under contracts, product liability, taxes, employment matters, environmental matters, intellectual property and other matters incidental to the normal course of its business. Based on the Company’s historical experience in litigating these actions, as well as the Company’s current assessment of the underlying merits of the actions and applicable insurance, if any, management believes that the final resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity, cash flows or results of operations. Future developments may, however, result in resolution of these legal claims in a way that could have a material adverse effect.

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