XML 48 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.4.0.8

Legal Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
--- | ---
Oct. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Contingencies | NOTE 13 – LEGAL CONTINGENCIES In the normal course of business, the Company has pending claims and legal proceedings. It is the opinion of management, based on information available at this time, that none of the current claims and proceedings could have a material effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements other than the matters discussed below. The material amounts of any legal fees expected to be incurred in connection with these matters are accrued when such amounts are estimable. Altra Matters GPS was the contractor for engineering, procurement and construction services related to an anhydrous ethanol plant in Carleton, Nebraska (the “Project”). The Project owner was ALTRA Nebraska, LLC (“Altra”). In November 2007, GPS and Altra agreed to a suspension of the Project while Altra sought to obtain financing to complete the Project. By March 2008, financing had not been arranged which terminated the construction contract prior to completion of the Project. In March 2008, GPS filed a mechanic’s lien against the Project in the approximate amount of $23.8 million, which amount included sums owed to subcontractors/suppliers of GPS and their subcontractors/suppliers. Several other claimants also filed mechanic’s liens against the Project. In August 2009, Altra filed for bankruptcy protection. Proceedings resulted in a court-ordered liquidation of Altra’s assets. The incomplete plant was sold at auction in October 2009. Remaining net proceeds of approximately $5.5 million are being held by the bankruptcy court and have not been distributed to Altra’s creditors. The court separated the lien action into two phases relating to the priority of the claims first and the validity and amount of each party’s lien claim second. In November 2011, the court held that the claim of the project lender is superior to the lien claim of GPS. Fact discovery related to the second phase was completed in January 2012, but the court stayed this action pending the final resolution of the claims against the Company’s payment bond which were dismissed in September 2014 as discussed below. Accordingly, the Company expects that the court’s stay will soon be lifted and it has queried the mediator for these matters in order to determine whether further attempts at non-binding mediation may result in a resolution of the claims before litigation of these matters resumes. In January 2009, GPS and Delta-T Corporation (“Delta T”), a major subcontractor to GPS on the Project, executed a Project Close-Out Agreement which settled all contract claims between the parties and included a payment in the amount of $3.5 million that GPS made to Delta-T. Pursuant to this agreement, Delta-T assigned its lien rights related to the Project to GPS which advised the parties that it would be pursuing only the assigned lien rights of Delta-T, amounting to approximately $21.2 million, for the remainder of this action. In April 2009, a subcontractor to Delta-T (“DCR”) received an arbitration award in its favor against Delta-T in the amount of approximately $6.8 million that was confirmed in federal district court in Florida in December 2009. In April 2009, DCR also filed suit in the District Court of Thayer County, Nebraska, in order to recover its claimed amount of $6.8 million, as amended, from a payment bond issued to Altra on behalf of GPS. In December 2011, DCR filed a separate lawsuit against GPS relating to the Project in the District Court of Thayer County; its complaint sought damages in the amount of $6.1 million plus interest, costs and attorney fees. In August 2012, the applicable parties executed settlement agreements that resulted in the dismissal of the claims against GPS and its surety company, with prejudice, and the assignment of DCR’s mechanic’s lien claim against the escrowed Altra Project sales proceeds to GPS. In connection with these settlements, GPS made cash payments to DCR in August 2012 that totaled $1,875,000. Subsequent to the execution of the settlement agreements and the payments made by GPS, DCR’s former counsel filed notice of a charging lien, claiming that DCR was indebted to counsel in excess of $1.8 million in fees and costs. In addition, a subcontractor to DCR on the Altra Project filed a motion asking the court to set aside the dismissals or, in the alternative, to reconsider them. In October 2012, the court vacated the prior orders of dismissal and permitted DCR’s former counsel and former subcontractor to file complaints. A trial for the charging lien and subcontractor claims was held in April 2013. On September 30, 2014, the court dismissed the complaints of the plaintiffs against GPS and its surety company, and subsequently issued orders of dismissal with prejudice bringing these actions to a close.

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for legal proceedings, legal contingencies, litigation, regulatory and environmental matters and other contingencies. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LegalMattersAndContingenciesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration