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Discontinued Operations | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Abstract] |
Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Text Block] | Discontinued Operations Discontinued operations include certain former Australian Thermal Mining and Midwestern U.S. Mining segment assets that have ceased production and other previously divested legacy operations, including Patriot Coal Corporation and certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (Patriot). Summarized Results of Discontinued Operations Results from discontinued operations were as follows during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:
|  | Successor | Predecessor
|  | April 2 through December 31, 2017 | January 1 through April 1, 2017 |  | Year Ended December 31, 2016 |  | Year Ended December 31, 2015
|  | (Dollars in millions)
Loss from discontinued operations before income taxes |  | $ | (19.8 | ) | $ | (16.2 | ) |  | $ | (57.6 | ) |  | $ | (182.2 | )
Income tax benefit |  | — |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 7.2 |
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes |  | $ | (19.8 | ) | $ | (16.2 | ) |  | $ | (57.6 | ) |  | $ | (175.0 | )
There were no significant revenues from discontinued operations during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. Assets and Liabilities of Discontinued Operations Assets and liabilities classified as discontinued operations included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets were as follows:
| Successor | Predecessor
| December 31, 2017 | December 31, 2016
| (Dollars in millions)
Assets: |  |
Other current assets | $ | 0.3 |  | $ | 0.2 |
Investments and other assets | — |  | 15.9 |
Total assets classified as discontinued operations | $ | 0.3 |  | $ | 16.1 |
Liabilities: |  |
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 70.6 |  | $ | 55.9 |
Other noncurrent liabilities | 170.0 |  | 198.5 |
Liabilities subject to compromise | — |  | 20.9 |
Total liabilities classified as discontinued operations | $ | 240.6 |  | $ | 275.3 |
Wilkie Creek Mine. In December 2013, the Company ceased production and started reclamation of the Wilkie Creek Mine in Queensland, Australia. On June 30, 2014, Queensland Bulk Handling Pty Ltd (QBH) commenced litigation against Peabody (Wilkie Creek) Pty Limited, the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that owns the Wilkie Creek Mine, alleging breach of a Coal Port Services Agreement (CPSA) between the parties. Included in “Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” for the year ended December 31, 2015 is a $9.7 million charge related to the settlement of that litigation. In September 2016, a settlement was reached under which the Company agreed to pay $13.0 million Australian dollars ($9.9 million USD) to QBH in a full and final settlement of all claims each party had against the other in relation to the CPSA litigation. Patriot-Related Matters In 2012, Patriot filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code. In 2013, the Company entered into a definitive settlement agreement (2013 Agreement) with Patriot and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), on behalf of itself, its represented Patriot employees and its represented Patriot retirees, to resolve all then disputed issues related to Patriot’s bankruptcy. In May 2015, Patriot again filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code in the Eastern District of Virginia and subsequently initiated a process to sell some or all of its assets to qualified bidders. On October 9, 2015, Patriot’s bankruptcy court entered an order confirming Patriot’s plan of reorganization, which provided, among other things, for the sale of substantially all of Patriot’s assets to two different buyers. Black Lung Occupational Disease Liabilities Patriot had federal and state black lung occupational disease liabilities related to workers employed in periods prior to Patriot’s spin-off from the Company in 2007. Upon spin-off, Patriot indemnified the Company against any claim relating to these liabilities, which amounted to approximately $150 million at that time. The indemnification included any claim made by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) against the Company with respect to these obligations as a potentially liable operator under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The 2013 Agreement included Patriot’s affirmance of indemnities provided in the spin-off agreements, including the indemnity relating to such black lung liabilities; however, Patriot rejected this indemnity in its May 2015 bankruptcy. By statute, the Company had secondary liability for the black lung liabilities related to Patriot’s workers employed by former subsidiaries of the Company. Whether the Company will ultimately be required to fund certain of those obligations in the future as a result of Patriot’s May 2015 bankruptcy remains uncertain. The amount of the liability was $134.0 million at December 31, 2017, which was determined on an actuarial basis based on the best information available to the Company. In connection with the actuarial valuation, the Company recorded a mark-to-market adjustment of $7.9 million to increase the liability during the Successor period ended December 31, 2017. While the Company has recorded a liability, it intends to review each claim on a case-by-case basis and contest liability estimates as appropriate. The amount of the Company’s recorded liability reflects only Patriot workers employed by former subsidiaries of the Company that are presently retired, disabled or otherwise not actively employed. The Company cannot reliably estimate the potential liabilities for Patriot’s workers employed by former subsidiaries of the Company that are presently active in the workforce because of the potential for such workers to continue to work for another coal operator that is a going concern. The Company’s accounting for the black lung liabilities related to Patriot is based on an interpretation of applicable statutes. Management believes that there exist inconsistencies among the applicable statutes, regulations promulgated under those statutes and the Department of Labor’s interpretative guidance. The Company may seek clarification from the Department of Labor regarding these inconsistencies and the accounting for these liabilities could be reduced in the future depending on the Department of Labor’s responses to inquiries. Combined Benefit Fund (Combined Fund) The Combined Fund was created by the Coal Act in 1992 as a multi-employer plan to provide health care benefits to a closed group of retirees who last worked prior to 1976, as well as orphaned beneficiaries of bankrupt companies who were receiving benefits as orphans prior to the passage of the Coal Act. No new retirees will be added to this group, which includes retirees formerly employed by certain Patriot subsidiaries and their predecessors. Former employers are required to contribute to the Combined Fund according to a formula. Under the terms of the Patriot spin-off, Patriot was primarily liable to the Combined Fund for the approximately $40.0 million of its subsidiaries’ obligations at that time. Once Patriot ceased meeting its obligations, the Company was held responsible for these costs and, as a result, recorded a “Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” charge of $24.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company recorded additional charges of $0.6 million during the Successor period April 2 through December 31, 2017 and $0.2 million and $1.2 million during the Predecessor period January 1 through April 1, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively. The Company made payments into the fund of $1.7 million during the Successor period April 2 through December 31, 2017 and $0.6 million during the Predecessor period January 1 through April 1, 2017 and estimates that the annual cash cost to fund these potential Combined Fund liabilities will range between $2 million and $3 million in the near-term, with those premiums expected to decline over time because the fund is closed to new participants. The liability related to the fund was $20.2 million at December 31, 2017. UMWA 1974 Pension Plan (UMWA Plan) Litigation On July 16, 2015, a lawsuit was filed by the UMWA Plan, the UMWA 1974 Pension Trust (Trust) and the Trustees of the UMWA Plan and Trust (Trustees) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, against PEC, PHC, a subsidiary of the Company, and Arch Coal, Inc. (Arch). The plaintiffs sought, pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA), a declaratory judgment that the defendants were obligated to arbitrate any opposition to the Trustees’ determination that the defendants have statutory withdrawal liability as a result of the 2015 Patriot bankruptcy. After a legal and arbitration process and with the approval of the Bankruptcy Court, on January 25, 2017, the UMWA Plan and the Debtors agreed to a settlement of the claim whereby the UMWA Plan will be entitled to $75 million to be paid by the Company in increments through 2021. In connection with the settlement, the Company recorded a liability representing the present value of the installments of $54.3 million and recognized an equivalent charge to “Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016. The balance of the liability was $46.0 million at December 31, 2017.
Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Table Text Block] | Assets and liabilities classified as discontinued operations included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets were as follows:
| Successor | Predecessor
| December 31, 2017 | December 31, 2016
| (Dollars in millions)
Assets: |  |
Other current assets | $ | 0.3 |  | $ | 0.2 |
Investments and other assets | — |  | 15.9 |
Total assets classified as discontinued operations | $ | 0.3 |  | $ | 16.1 |
Liabilities: |  |
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 70.6 |  | $ | 55.9 |
Other noncurrent liabilities | 170.0 |  | 198.5 |
Liabilities subject to compromise | — |  | 20.9 |
Total liabilities classified as discontinued operations | $ | 240.6 |  | $ | 275.3 |

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