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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Aug. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 16. Commitments and Contingencies Legal The Company and its subsidiaries are named defendants and plaintiffs in various routine lawsuits incidental to our business. These proceedings include labor and employment claims, various commercial disputes, use of the Company’s intellectual property, worker’s compensation and environmental matters, all arising in the normal course of business. As discovery progresses on all outstanding legal matters, the Company will continue to evaluate opportunities to either settle the disputes for nuisance value or potentially enter into mediation as a way to resolve the disputes prior to trial. As the pending cases progress through additional discovery and potential mediation, our assessment of the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome on the pending lawsuits may change. Although the outcome of these lawsuits or other proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, and the amount of any potential liability that could arise with respect to such lawsuits or other matters cannot be predicted at this time, management, after consultation with legal counsel believes it has strong defenses to all of these matters and does not expect liabilities, if any, from these claims or proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, to have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The Company’s prior-owned affiliate ₋ The Calvert Company entered into a series of commercial contracts in 2011 and 2015 to provide equipment and services to a power plant in Georgia. The general contractor on the project, WECTEC (a subsidiary of Westinghouse), filed bankruptcy in New York in March of 2017. The Company’s affiliate continued to perform work on the project for the owners/licensee under an interim bridge contract. We believe the affiliate was eventually terminated for convenience on the project, and the affiliate filed an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court against WECTEC and the owners to collect all unpaid amounts. The owners of the Georgia power plant filed a countersuit in April of 2018. In connection with the Company selling the majority interest in the AIS business to Fernweh Group on September 30, 2022, the Company agreed to retain this lawsuit. After a long and protracted discovery process and motion practice, we determined in the quarter ended August 31, 2023 that the most favorable outcome to the Company to resolve the dispute may be a negotiated settlement. This decision was made in consideration of the expenses of a lengthy jury trial and potentially protracted appeal process; the resources necessary to continue the prosecution and defense of the case given the size of the discovery and the number of issues involved; the risk factors typically associated with jury verdicts in light of all of the political circumstances currently present in Georgia regarding the power plant; and the benefit of resolving a dispute whose genesis arose more than twelve years ago based solely upon risk avoidance, and not upon the merits of the case. All of the parties have agreed to enter into a confidential settlement agreement, with no parties admitting any guilt or negligence and the Company agreeing to pay the owners/licensee $5.75 million on or around December 6, 2023 to resolve all outstanding matters related to the dispute. The settlement agreement is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. In addition, the agreement included the forgiveness of the Company's receivable from WECTEC of $3.7 million, which was fully reserved by the Company. This settlement of $5.75 million was accrued during the three months ended August 31, 2023, and is included in "Selling, general and administrative" expense in the consolidated statement of operations for the three months ended August 31, 2023 and in "Other accrued liabilities" in the consolidated balance sheet as of August 31, 2023. The settlement was included in the AZZ Infrastructure Solutions segment, and the settlement payment will be made in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. A litigation matter between the Company and a previous customer of an affiliate of the AIS business, which was retained following the disposition of the AIS business, is scheduled to go to trial during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. The Company is the Plaintiff and believes that it will be able to recover its damages against the Defendant. As of August 31, 2023, the Company has a receivable due from the Defendant, net of allowance, of $5.2 million, which is included in "Accounts receivable, net" in the consolidated balance sheets. Neither the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome nor the ultimate liability, if any, with respect to this litigation can be determined at this time. Environmental The Company assumed certain environmental liabilities as part of the Precoat Acquisition described in Note 2. As of August 31, 2023, the reserve balance for environmental liabilities was $22.4 million, of which $3.5 million is classified as current. Environmental remediation liabilities include costs directly associated with site investigation and clean up, such as materials, external contractor costs, legal and consulting expenses and incremental internal costs directly related to ongoing remediation plans. Estimates used to record environmental remediation liabilities are based on the Company's best estimate of probable future costs based on site-specific facts and circumstances known at the time of the estimate and these estimates are updated on a quarterly basis. Estimates of the cost for the potential or ongoing remediation plans are developed using internal resources and third-party environmental engineers and consultants. The Company accrues the anticipated cost of environmental remediation when the obligation is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a range of amounts can be reasonably estimated and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, then the minimum of the range is accrued. While any revisions to the Company's environmental remediation liabilities could be material to the operating results of any fiscal quarter or fiscal year, the Company does not expect such additional remediation expenses to have an adverse material effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

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