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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Feb. 28, 2021
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Note 8 – Commitments and Contingencies In the ordinary course of its business operations, the Company enters into arrangements that obligate it to make future payments under contracts such as lease agreements. Additionally, the Company is involved, from time to time, in commercial litigation, employment disputes, administrative proceedings, business disputes and other legal proceedings. The Company has established accruals for certain proceedings based on an assessment of probability of loss. The Company believes that any such currently-pending proceedings are either covered by insurance or would not have a material effect on the business or its consolidated financial statements if decided in a manner that is unfavorable to the Company. Such proceedings are exclusive of environmental remediation matters which are discussed separately below. Infrastructure Products The Company is currently defending a number of product liability lawsuits arising out of vehicle collisions with highway barriers incorporating the Company’s X-Lite® end terminal. Despite the September 2018 reversal of a sizable judgment against a competitor, the Company expects that the significant attention brought to the infrastructure products industry by the original judgment may lead to additional lawsuits being filed against the Company and others in the industry. The Company, certain of its subsidiaries, and certain third parties which originally designed the X-Lite end terminal have also been named in a lawsuit filed on June 9, 2020 in the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri by Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (“MHTC”). MHTC alleges, among other things, that the X-Lite end terminal was defectively designed and failed to perform as designed, intended, and advertised, leading to MHTC’s removal and replacement of X-Lite end terminals from Missouri’s roadways. MHTC alleges strict liability (defective design and failure to warn), negligence, breach of express warranties, breach of implied warranties (merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose), fraud, and public nuisance. MHTC seeks compensatory damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and punitive damages. The Company believes it has meritorious factual and legal defenses to each of the lawsuits discussed above and is prepared to vigorously defend its interests. Based on the information currently available to the Company, the Company does not believe that a loss is probable in any of these lawsuits; therefore, no accrual has been included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. While it is possible that a loss may be incurred, the Company is unable to estimate a range of potential loss due to the complexity and current status of these lawsuits. However, the Company maintains insurance coverage to mitigate the impact of adverse exposures in these lawsuits and does not expect that these lawsuits will have a material adverse effect on its business or its consolidated financial statements. In June 2019, the Company was informed by letter that the Department of Justice, Civil Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, with the assistance of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, are conducting an investigation of the Company relating to the Company’s X-Lite end terminal and potential violations of the federal civil False Claims Act. Depending on the outcome of this matter, there could be a material adverse effect on the Company’s business or its consolidated financial statements. Given the current posture of the matter, the Company is unable to estimate a range of potential loss, if any, or to express an opinion regarding the ultimate outcome. Environmental Remediation In previous years, the Company committed to a plan to remediate environmental contamination of the groundwater at and adjacent to its Lindsay, Nebraska facility (the “site”). The current estimated aggregate accrued cost of $16.1 million is based on consideration of remediation options which the Company believes could be successful in meeting the long-term regulatory requirements of the site. The Company submitted a revised remedial alternatives evaluation report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (the “NDEE”) in August 2020 to review remediation alternatives and proposed plans for the site. The proposed remediation plan is preliminary and has not been approved by the EPA or the NDEE. Based on guidance from third-party environmental experts and the preliminary discussions with the regulatory agencies, the Company anticipates that a definitive plan will not be agreed upon until the latter half of calendar 2021 or later. An increase to the liability of $1.0 million was recorded within general and administrative expense on the condensed consolidated statement of earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. Of the total liability, $11.0 million was calculated on a discounted basis using a discount rate of 1.2%, which represents a risk-free rate. This discounted portion of the liability amounts to $12.4 million on an undiscounted basis. The Company accrues the anticipated cost of investigation and remediation when the obligation is probable and can be reasonably estimated. While the plan has not formally been approved by the EPA, the Company believes the current accrual is a good faith estimate of the long-term cost of remediation at this site; however, the estimate of costs and their timing could change as a result of a number of factors, including (1) EPA input on the proposed remediation plan and any changes which it may subsequently require, (2) refinement of cost estimates and length of time required to complete remediation and post-remediation operations and maintenance, (3) effectiveness of the technology chosen in remediation of the site as well as changes in technology that may be available in the future, and (4) unforeseen circumstances existing at the site. As a result of these factors, the actual amount of costs incurred by the Company in connection with the remediation of contamination of its Lindsay, Nebraska site could exceed the amounts accrued for this expense at this time. While any revisions could be material to the operating results of any fiscal quarter or fiscal year, the Company does not expect such additional expenses would have a material adverse effect on its liquidity or financial condition. The following table summarizes the undiscounted environmental remediation liability classifications included in the condensed consolidated balance sheets as of February 28, 2021, February 29, 2020, and August 31, 2020:
($ in thousands) |  | February 28, 2021 |  |  | February 29, 2020 |  |  | August 31, 2020 |
Other current liabilities |  | $ | 1,105 |  |  | $ | 1,243 |  |  | $ | 1,115 |
Other noncurrent liabilities |  |  | 15,017 |  |  |  | 14,396 |  |  |  | 15,030 |
Total environmental remediation liabilities |  | $ | 16,122 |  |  | $ | 15,639 |  |  | $ | 16,145 |

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