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Contingent Liabilities and Environmental Reserves | 12 Months Ended
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Oct. 31, 2015
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Contingent Liabilities and Environmental Reserves | NOTE 14 – CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESERVES Litigation-related Liabilities The Company may become involved from time-to-time in litigation and regulatory matters incidental to its business, including governmental investigations, enforcement actions, personal injury claims, product liability, employment health and safety matters, commercial disputes, intellectual property matters, disputes regarding environmental clean-up costs, litigation in connection with acquisitions and divestitures, and other matters arising out of the normal conduct of its business. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself in such litigation. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any pending litigation will have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial statements. The Company may accrue for contingencies related to litigation and regulatory matters if it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable and unfavorable resolutions can occur, assessing contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgments about future events. The Company regularly reviews contingencies to determine whether its accruals are adequate. The amount of ultimate loss may differ from these estimates. Environmental Reserves As of October 31, 2015 and 2014, environmental reserves were $8.2 million and $24.7 million, respectively, and were recorded on an undiscounted basis. These reserves are principally based on environmental studies and cost estimates provided by third parties, but also take into account management estimates. The estimated liabilities are reduced to reflect the anticipated participation of other potentially responsible parties in those instances where it is probable that such parties are legally responsible and financially capable of paying their respective shares of relevant costs. For sites that involve formal actions subject to joint and several liabilities, these actions have formal agreements in place to apportion the liability. As of October 31, 2015 and 2014, environmental reserves of the Company included $0.6 million and $13.7 million, respectively, for its blending facility in Chicago, Illinois; $4.3 million and $6.8 million, respectively, for various European drum facilities acquired from Blagden and Van Leer; $2.0 million and $2.6 million, respectively, for its various container life cycle management and recycling facilities acquired in 2011 and 2010, and $1.3 million and $1.6 million for various other facilities around the world. The $13.1 million decrease in environmental reserve for the blending facility located in Chicago is a result of the divestment during the second quarter of 2015 of the subsidiary that owns this facility. The Company’s exposure to adverse developments with respect to any individual site is not expected to be material. Although environmental remediation could have a material effect on results of operations if a series of adverse developments occur in a particular quarter or year, the Company believes that the chance of a series of adverse developments occurring in the same quarter or year is remote. Future information and developments will require the Company to continually reassess the expected impact of these environmental matters.

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