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Litigation and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Litigation and Contingencies | Litigation and Contingencies The Company is subject to various claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of business, including from time to time, contractual disputes, employment and environmental matters, product and general liability claims, claims that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others, and consumer and employment class actions. Some of the legal proceedings include claims for punitive as well as compensatory damages. In the ordinary course of business, the Company is also subject to legislative requests, regulatory and governmental examinations, information requests and subpoenas, inquiries, investigations, and threatened legal actions and proceedings. In connection with such formal and informal inquiries, the Company receives numerous requests, subpoenas, and orders for documents, testimony and information in connection with various aspects of its activities. The Company previously disclosed that it had received a subpoena and related informal document requests from the SEC primarily relating to its sales practices and certain accounting matters. The Company cooperated with the SEC in connection with its investigation and requests for documents, testimony and information. Since January 2023, the Company had been discussing with the SEC the possibility of reaching a settlement to resolve the investigation, which related to the time period between third quarter of fiscal year 2016 and second quarter of fiscal year 2017. On September 29, 2023, the Company entered into a settlement with the SEC, which concluded the investigation of the Company. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings and agreed to pay a civil penalty of approximately $13 million, which did not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. Further, on June 30, 2021, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC requesting the production of documents related to its disclosure of the potential impact of the U.S. Treasury and the IRS’s temporary regulations under IRC Section 245A, as enacted by the 2017 U.S. Tax Reform Legislation and IRC Section 954(c)(6) (the “Temporary Regulations”), as well as the August 21, 2020 finalized versions of the Temporary Regulations. Securities Litigation The Company and certain of its current and former officers and directors were named as defendants in a securities class action lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County, on behalf of all persons who acquired Company common stock pursuant to the S-4 registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with the April 2016 acquisition of Jarden Corporation (the “Registration Statement”). The action was filed on September 6, 2018 and was captioned Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System v. Newell Brands Inc., et al., Civil Action No. HUD-L-003492-18 (“Oklahoma Firefighters”). In October 2022, the Company entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the claims asserted in this lawsuit. Under the settlement, the Company agreed to create a settlement fund of approximately $103 million for the benefit of the class, subject to certain exclusions, which was predominantly funded by insurance proceeds. Both the settlement and the insurance receivable were recorded during the third quarter of 2022. The amount not funded by available insurance proceeds, which is not material to the Company, was expensed during the third quarter of 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Court granted the plaintiff's motion for preliminary approval of the settlement, and the Company and its insurers paid the required amount into the settlement fund. On February 10, 2023, the Court granted the plaintiff's motion for final approval of settlement. The deadline to appeal the order granting final approval of the settlement has expired and the settlement is final. Certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors were named in shareholder derivative lawsuits. On October 29, 2018, a shareholder filed a putative derivative complaint, Streicher v. Polk, et al., in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Streicher Derivative Action”), purportedly on behalf of the Company against certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors. On October 30, 2018, another shareholder filed a putative derivative complaint, Martindale v. Polk, et al., in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Martindale Derivative Action”), asserting substantially similar claims purportedly on behalf of the Company against the same defendants. The complaints allege, among other things, violations of the federal securities laws, breaches of fiduciary duties, unjust enrichment, and waste of corporate assets. The factual allegations underlying these claims are similar to the factual allegations made in the In re Newell Brands, Inc. Securities Litigation that was previously pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. That matter was dismissed by the District Court on January 10, 2020, and the dismissal was affirmed by the United States District Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on December 1, 2020. The Streicher Derivative Action and the Martindale Derivative Action were consolidated into a case known as In re Newell Brands Inc. Derivative Litigation (the “Newell Brands Derivative Action”), which is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. On December 30, 2020, two shareholders filed a putative derivative complaint, Weber, et al. v. Polk, et al., also in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Weber Derivative Action”), purportedly on behalf of the Company against certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors. The complaint in the Weber Derivative Action alleged, among other things, breaches of fiduciary duty and waste of corporate assets. The factual allegations underlying these claims are similar to the factual allegations made in the Newell Brands Derivative Action. These derivative complaints sought damages and restitution for the Company from the individual defendants, the payment of costs and attorneys’ fees, and that the Company be directed to reform certain governance and internal procedures. The United States District Court for the District of Delaware stayed the Newell Brands Derivative Action and the Weber Derivative Action. On January 31, 2023, Plaintiff Streicher voluntarily dismissed herself from the Newell Brands Derivative Action without prejudice. On September 5, 2023, the Newell Brands Derivative Action and the Weber Derivative Action were dismissed with prejudice. On May 26, 2023, Plaintiff Streicher filed a new putative derivative complaint, Streicher v. Polk, et al., in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division: Hudson County (the “New Jersey Derivative Action” and, collectively with the Newell Brands Derivative Action and the Weber Derivative Action, the “Derivative Actions”), purportedly on behalf of the Company against certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors. The complaint in the New Jersey Derivative Action alleged breaches of fiduciary duty. The factual allegations underlying these claims were similar to the factual allegations made in the Newell Brands Derivative Action and the Weber Derivative Action. On June 7, 2023, Plaintiff Streicher filed a Stipulation of Settlement (the “Stipulation”) and Motion for Preliminary Approval of Settlement in the New Jersey Derivative Action. The proposed settlement as set forth in the Stipulation provided for, among other things, a full release of the claims that the plaintiffs or any other Company stockholder asserted or could have asserted in the Derivative Actions against any of the defendants named in those actions, in exchange for the Company’s agreement to implement and/or maintain certain corporate governance measures, as more fully described in the Stipulation and Notice of Proposed Derivative Settlement as filed by the Company with the SEC on a Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 29, 2023 (the “Settlement”). On June 27, 2023, the Superior Court of Hudson County, New Jersey issued an order preliminarily approving the proposed Settlement as set forth in the Stipulation. On August 25, 2023, the Superior Court of Hudson County, New Jersey approved the Settlement and dismissed the case with prejudice. Environmental Matters The Company is involved in various matters concerning federal and state environmental laws and regulations, including matters in which the Company has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“U.S. EPA”) and certain state environmental agencies as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at contaminated sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and equivalent state laws. In assessing its environmental response costs, the Company has considered several factors, including the extent of the Company’s volumetric contribution at each site relative to that of other PRPs; the kind of waste; the terms of existing cost sharing and other applicable agreements; the financial ability of other PRPs to share in the payment of requisite costs; the Company’s prior experience with similar sites; environmental studies and cost estimates available to the Company; the effects of inflation on cost estimates; and the extent to which the Company’s, and other parties’ status as PRPs is disputed. The Company’s estimate of environmental remediation costs associated with these matters at December 31, 2023 was $41 million which is included in other accrued liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. No insurance recovery was taken into account in determining the Company’s cost estimates or reserves, nor do the Company’s cost estimates or reserves reflect any discounting for present value purposes, except with respect to certain long-term operations and maintenance CERCLA matters. Because of the uncertainties associated with environmental investigations and response activities, the possibility that the Company could be identified as a PRP at sites identified in the future that require the incurrence of environmental response costs and the possibility that sites acquired in business combinations may require environmental response costs, actual costs to be incurred by the Company may vary from the Company’s estimates. Lower Passaic River Matter The U.S. EPA has issued General Notice Letters to over 100 entities, including the Company and its subsidiary, Berol Corporation (together, the “Company Parties”), alleging that they are PRPs at the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site (the “Site”) pursuant to CERCLA. The Site is the subject of investigation and remedial activities and related settlement negotiations with the U.S. EPA. The Site is divided into four “operable units,” and the Company Parties have received General Notice Letters in connection with operable Unit 2, which comprises the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River and its tributaries (“Unit 2”), and operable Unit 4, which comprises a 17-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River and its tributaries (“Unit 4”). Unit 2 is geographically subsumed within Unit 4. In October 2021, the U.S. EPA issued a Record of Decision for an interim remedy for the upper 9 miles of Unit 4, selecting a combination of dredging and capping as the remedial alternative, which the U.S. EPA estimates will cost $441 million in the aggregate. The U.S. EPA also performed a Source Control Early Action Focused Feasibility Study for Unit 2, which culminated in a Record of Decision in 2016. The U.S. EPA estimates that the selected remedy for Unit 2 set forth in its Record of Decision will cost $1.4 billion in the aggregate. In September 2017, the U.S. EPA announced an allocation process involving roughly 80 Unit 2 General Notice Letter recipients, with the intent of offering cash-out settlements to a number of parties (the “U.S. EPA Settlement”). The allocation process has concluded, and the Company Parties were placed in the lowest tier of relative responsibility among allocation parties. On December 16, 2022, the U.S. EPA simultaneously filed a complaint and lodged a Consent Decree to resolve the liability of the Company Parties and other settlement parties for past and future CERCLA response costs at Unit 2 and Unit 4. On January 17, 2024, following review of public comments, the U.S. EPA filed an amended complaint and lodged a modified Consent Decree. U.S. EPA filed a motion to enter the modified Consent Decree on January 31, 2024. As of the date of this filing, the Company does not expect that its allocation in the U.S. EPA Settlement relating to Unit 2 and Unit 4, if the settlement is finalized, will be material to the Company. In June 2018, Occidental Chemical Corporation (“OCC”) sued over 100 parties, including the Company Parties, in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey pursuant to CERCLA, requesting cost recovery, contribution, and a declaratory judgement. The defendants, in turn, filed claims against 42 third-party defendants, and filed counterclaims against OCC (collectively, the “OCC Litigation”). The primary focus of the OCC Litigation has been certain past and future costs for investigation, design and remediation of Units 2 and 4. However, OCC has stated that it anticipates asserting claims against defendants regarding Newark Bay, which is also part of the Site, after the U.S. EPA has selected the Newark Bay remedy. OCC has also stated that it may broaden its claims in the future after completion of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment described below. In March 2023, the Court granted an unopposed motion to stay the OCC Litigation. On January 5, 2024, the Court granted a motion to extend the stay pending the Court’s adjudication of the then anticipated, and currently pending, motion to enter the amended Consent Decree embodying the U.S. EPA Settlement. At this time, the Company cannot predict the eventual outcome of the OCC Litigation. In 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), acting as the lead administrative trustee on behalf of itself and the U.S. Department of the Interior, issued a Notice of Intent to Perform a Natural Resource Damage Assessment to the Company Parties, along with numerous other entities, identifying the recipients as PRPs. The federal trustees (who now include the United States Department of Commerce, represented by NOAA, and the Department of the Interior, represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service) are presently undertaking the Natural Resource Damage Assessment with respect to the Site. Based on currently known facts and circumstances, the Company does not believe that the Lower Passaic River matter is reasonably likely to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations. However, in the event of one or more adverse determinations related to this matter, including the OCC Litigation and Natural Resource Damage Assessment noted above (for which the Company cannot currently estimate the range of possible losses), it is possible that the ultimate liability resulting from this matter and the impact on the Company’s results of operations could be material. Because of the uncertainties associated with environmental investigations and response activities, the possibility that the Company could be identified as a PRP at sites identified in the future that require the incurrence of environmental response costs and the possibility that sites acquired in business combinations may require environmental response costs, actual costs to be incurred by the Company may vary from the Company’s estimates. Other Matters In the normal course of business and as part of its acquisition and divestiture strategy, the Company may provide certain representations and indemnifications related to legal, environmental, product liability, tax or other types of issues. Based on the nature of these representations and indemnifications, it is not possible to predict the maximum potential payments under all of these agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Historically, payments made by the Company under these agreements did not have a material effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations. In connection with the 2018 sale of The Waddington Group, Novolex Holdings, Inc. (the “Buyer”) filed suit against the Company in October 2019 in the Superior Court of Delaware. The Buyer generally alleged that the Company fraudulently breached certain representations in the Equity Purchase Agreement between the Company and Buyer, dated May 2, 2018, resulting in an inflated purchase price for The Waddington Group. In the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an immaterial reserve in its Consolidated Financial Statements based on its best estimate of probable loss associated with this matter. Further, in connection with the Company’s sale of The United States Playing Card Company (“USPC”), Cartamundi, Inc. and Cartamundi España, S.L., (the “Buyers”) have notified the Company of their contention that certain representations and warranties in the Stock Purchase Agreement, dated June 4, 2019, were inaccurate and/or breached, and have sought indemnification to the extent that the Buyers are required to pay related damages arising out of a third party lawsuit that was recently filed against USPC. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company recorded an immaterial reserve based on the outcome of a judicial ruling relating to indirect taxes in an international entity. During the first quarter of 2023, the Company paid the estimated liability to the relevant taxing authorities. Although the Company cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this contingency with certainty, it believes that any additional amounts it may be required to pay will not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. Although the Company cannot predict the ultimate outcome of other proceedings with certainty, it believes that the ultimate resolution of the Company’s proceedings, including any amounts it may be required to pay in excess of amounts reserved, will not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements, except as otherwise described in this Footnote 18. At December 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $38 million in standby letters of credit primarily related to the Company’s self-insurance programs, including workers’ compensation, product liability and medical expenses.

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