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Contingencies
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Contingencies
19. Contingencies

Litigation

We are defendants in lawsuits associated with the normal conduct of our businesses and operations. It is not possible to predict the outcome of the pending actions, and, as with any litigation, it is possible that these actions could be decided unfavorably to the Company. The Company believes that there are meritorious defenses to these actions and that these actions will not have a material effect upon our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition, and where appropriate, these actions are being vigorously contested.

Environmental

Compliance with federal, state and local laws regulating the discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment, did not have a material effect on capital expenditures, earnings or the competitive position of Home & Security during the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013. We are involved in remediation activities to clean up hazardous wastes as required by federal and state laws. Liabilities for remediation costs of each site are based on our best estimate of undiscounted future costs, excluding possible insurance recoveries or recoveries from other third parties. Uncertainties about the status of laws, regulations, technology and information related to individual sites make it difficult to develop estimates of environmental remediation exposures.