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Note 17 - Commitments and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2019
Notes to Financial Statements |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] |
17. | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Other Commitments The Company submits purchase orders for raw materials to various vendors throughout the year for current production requirements, as well as forecasted requirements. Certain of these purchase orders relate to special purpose material and, as such, the Company may incur penalties if an order is cancelled. The Company had outstanding purchase orders related to raw materials in the amount of $ 42.5 million and $58.9 million at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively. The Company also had outstanding purchase orders related to capital expenditures in the amount of $ 2.8 million and $5.2 million at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively. Legal Proceedings The Company is party to a number of legal actions and claims, none of which individually or in the aggregate, in the opinion of management, are expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations or consolidated financial position. In connection with the acquisition of Power Solutions, there is an ongoing claim by the Arezzo Revenue Agency in Italy concerning certain tax matters related to what was then Power-One Asia Pacific Electronics Shenzhen Co. Ltd. (now Bel Power Solutions Asia Pacific Electronics Shenzhen Co. Ltd, or "BPS China") for the years 2004 to 2006. In September 2012, the Tax Court of Arezzo ruled in favor of BPS China and cancelled the claim. In February 2013, the Arezzo Revenue Agency filed an appeal of the Tax Court's ruling. The hearing of the appeal was held on October 2, 2014. On October 13, 2014, BPS China was informed of the Regional Tax Commission of Florence ruling which was in favor of the Arezzo Revenue Agency and against BPS China. An appeal was filed on July 18, 2015 before the Regional Tax Commission of Florence and rejected. On December 5, 2016, the Arezzo Revenue Agency filed an appeal with the Supreme Court and BPS China filed a counter-appeal on January 4, 2017. The Supreme Court has yet to render its judgment. The estimated liability related to this matter is approximately $12.0 million and has been included as a liability for uncertain tax positions on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. As Bel is fully indemnified in this matter per the terms of the stock purchase agreement with ABB, a corresponding other asset for indemnification is also included in other assets on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 . In 2015, the Company was provided notice of a potential patent infringement claim by Setec Netzwerke AG ("Setec"), a German company for the alleged infringement of their patent EP 306 934 B1. Setec subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Company and three of its subsidiaries in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf, Germany on January 29, 2016 for patent infringement. The Company filed its defense to Setec's Complaint and a nullity lawsuit against Setec's patent on August 31, 2016. The Court hearing on infringement took place on March 23, 2017. Upon hearing argument from both parties, the Court issued a decision on April 6, 2017 staying final judgment in the infringement case pending resolution of the nullity lawsuit in the Federal Patents Courts in Munich, Germany. The Federal Patents Courts issued its preliminary opinion regarding the patent-in-suit on March 29, 2018, stating that it considers the patent-in-suit to not be novel over the prior art documents presented in the case. The parties agreed to withdraw from the pending infringement and nullity proceedings and entered into a settlement agreement on June 29, 2018. The Company paid Setec 75,000 Euro in exchange for a perpetual, worldwide royalty-free license to the patent-in-suit and all its counterparts. In 2015, one of the Company's subsidiaries in the PRC, Dongguan Transpower Electric Products Co., Ltd. ("Dongguan Transpower"), was provided notice of a claim by DG Yu Shing Industrial Development Company Limited against Dongguan Transpower and three other defendants for past due construction costs of approximately $3.2 million. In April 2018, the 3 rd People Court of Dongguan ruled and provided an unfavorable judgment against Dongguan Transpower and two of the other defendants requiring payment of the aforementioned amount. The defendants were held to be jointly and severally liable for approximately $3.2 million in costs. Due to the fact that none of the other defendants had sufficient funds to pay the damages amount, the Court ordered the entire amount (CNY 20,133,174 ) to be paid by Dongguan Transpower. On May 25, 2018, the Court enforced its order and withdrew the damages amount from Dongguan Transpower's bank accounts. On May 31, 2018, Dongguan Transpower filed an action against the other defendants in CP Court to recoup the damages amount paid pursuant to an indemnification letter dated October 16, 2015. The Court heard arguments on July 2, 2018 and rendered a verdict on July 9, 2018 ordering the Jinmei entities (defendants) to pay CNY 20,133,174 back to Dongguan Transpower together with the incurred interest. On August 27, 2018, Dongguan Transpower received payment of CNY 20,430,203 (approximately $3.2 million) from the defendants and this case was closed. On June 1, 2018, the Company filed an action against Unipower, LLC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for breach of contract. Specifically, the Company alleges in its Complaint that Unipower has willfully violated the Master Services Agreement ("MSA") entered into by the parties on January 23, 2015 by failing to make payment for the products it contracted for under the MSA. The parties entered into a settlement agreement on December 17, 2018 resolving all outstanding claims and a Stipulation of Dismissal was filed and entered on January 10, 2019. The Company is not a party to any other legal proceeding, the adverse outcome of which is likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial condition or consolidated results of operations.

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