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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Settlement Agreement Tax Deduction On March 31, 1998, the Company completed a multi-step transaction (the “Cryovac transaction”) involving W.R. Grace & Co. (“Grace”) which brought the Cryovac packaging business and the former Sealed Air’s business under the common ownership of the Company. As part of that transaction, Grace and its subsidiaries retained all liabilities arising out of their operations before the Cryovac transaction (including asbestos-related liabilities), other than liabilities relating to Cryovac’s operations, and agreed to indemnify the Company with respect to such retained liabilities. Beginning in 2000, we were served with a number of lawsuits alleging that the Cryovac transaction was a fraudulent transfer or gave rise to successor liability or both, and that, as a result, we were responsible for alleged asbestos liabilities of Grace and its subsidiaries. On April 2, 2001, Grace and a number of its subsidiaries filed petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”). In connection with Grace’s Chapter 11 case, the Bankruptcy Court granted the official committees appointed to represent asbestos claimants in Grace’s Chapter 11 case (the “Committees”) permission to pursue against the Company and its subsidiary Cryovac, Inc. fraudulent transfer, successor liability, and other claims based upon the Cryovac transaction. In November 2002, we reached an agreement in principle with the Committees to resolve all current and future asbestos-related claims made against us and our affiliates, as well as indemnification claims by Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. and affiliated companies, in each case, in connection with the Cryovac transaction. A definitive settlement agreement was entered into in 2003 and approved by the Bankruptcy Court in 2005 (such agreement, the "Settlement agreement"). The Settlement agreement was subsequently incorporated into the plan of reorganization for Grace (the "Plan") and the Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in 2011 and the U.S. District Court in 2012. On February 3, 2014 (the “Effective Date”), the Plan implementing the Settlement agreement became effective with W. R. Grace & Co., or Grace, emerging from bankruptcy and the injunctions and releases provided by the Plan becoming effective. On the Effective Date, the Company’s subsidiary, Cryovac, Inc., made the payments contemplated by the Settlement agreement, consisting of aggregate cash payments in the amount of $929.7 million to the WRG Asbestos PI Trust (the “PI Trust”) and the WRG Asbestos PD Trust (the “PD Trust”) and the transfer of 18 million shares of Sealed Air common stock (the “Settlement Shares”) to the PI Trust, in each case, reflecting adjustments made in accordance with the Settlement agreement. The IRS completed its field examination of our U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2011 through 2014 in the third quarter of 2020. As previously disclosed, the IRS has proposed to disallow for the 2014 taxable year the entirety of the deduction of the approximately $1.49 billion settlement payments made pursuant to the Settlement agreement and the resulting reduction of our U.S. federal tax liability by approximately $525 million. We continue to believe that we have meritorious defenses to the proposed disallowance and have filed a protest with the IRS. Although we expected to enter the IRS administrative appeals process in late 2020 or early 2021, upon receipt of our protest, the IRS determined that it needed additional information before transferring the matter to the IRS administrative appeals process. We have responded to requests for further information from the IRS and do not know if additional information will be requested or when the IRS will respond to our protest. At this time, we cannot predict when we will enter the IRS administrative appeals process, when such process will conclude, or the outcome of such process. It is possible that future developments in this matter could have a material impact on the uncertain tax position balances and results of operations, including cash flows, within the next twelve months. Environmental Matters We are subject to loss contingencies resulting from environmental laws and regulations, and we accrue for anticipated costs associated with investigatory and remediation efforts when an assessment has indicated that a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are not reduced by potential insurance recoveries, if any. We do not believe that it is reasonably possible that our liability in excess of the amounts that we have accrued for environmental matters will be material to our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets or Statements of Operations. Environmental liabilities are reassessed whenever circumstances become better defined or remediation efforts and their costs can be better estimated. We evaluate these liabilities periodically based on available information, including the progress of remedial investigations at each site, the current status of discussions with regulatory authorities regarding the methods and extent of remediation and the apportionment of costs among potentially responsible parties. As some of these issues are decided (the outcomes of which are subject to uncertainties) or new sites are assessed and costs can be reasonably estimated, we adjust the recorded accruals, as necessary. We believe that these exposures are not material to our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets or Statements of Operations. We believe that we have adequately reserved for all probable and estimable environmental exposures. Guarantees and Indemnification Obligations We are a party to many contracts containing guarantees and indemnification obligations. These contracts primarily consist of: •indemnities in connection with the sale of businesses, primarily related to the sale of Diversey in 2017. Our indemnity obligations under the relevant agreements may be limited in terms of time, amount or scope. As it relates to certain income tax related liabilities, the relevant agreements may not provide any cap for such liabilities, and the period in which we would be liable would lapse upon expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of the underlying taxes. Because of the conditional nature of these obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement, we are unable to reasonably estimate the potential maximum exposure associated with these items; •product warranties with respect to certain products sold to customers in the ordinary course of business. These warranties typically provide that products will conform to specifications. We generally do not establish a liability for product warranty based on a percentage of sales or other formula. We accrue a warranty liability on a transaction-specific basis depending on the individual facts and circumstances related to each sale. Both the liability and annual expense related to product warranties are immaterial to our consolidated financial position and results of operations; and •licenses of intellectual property by us to third parties in which we have agreed to indemnify the licensee against third-party infringement claims. As of March 31, 2021, the Company has no reason to believe a loss exceeding amounts already recognized would be incurred. Other Matters We are also involved in various other legal actions incidental to our business. We believe, after consulting with counsel, that the disposition of these other legal proceedings and matters will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations including potential impact to cash flows.

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