XML 31 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.5.0.2

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees | 9 Months Ended
--- | ---
Sep. 30, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees | 12. Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees Deferred Acquisition Consideration. In addition to the consideration paid by the Company in respect of certain of its acquisitions at closing, additional consideration may be payable, or may be potentially payable based on the achievement of certain threshold levels of earnings. See Note 2 and Note 4. Options to purchase. Noncontrolling shareholders in certain subsidiaries have the right in certain circumstances to require the Company to acquire the remaining ownership interests held by them. The noncontrolling shareholders’ ability to exercise any such option right is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including conditions requiring notice in advance of exercise and specific employment termination conditions. In addition, these rights cannot be exercised prior to specified staggered exercise dates. The exercise of these rights at their earliest contractual date would result in obligations of the Company to fund the related amounts during the remainder of 2016 to 2024. It is not determinable, at this time, if or when the owners of these rights will exercise all or a portion of these rights. The amount payable by the Company in the event such rights are exercised is dependent on various valuation formulas and on future events, such as the average earnings of the relevant subsidiary through the date of exercise, the growth rate of the earnings of the relevant subsidiary during that period and, in some cases, the currency exchange rate at the date of payment. Management estimates, assuming that the subsidiaries owned by the Company at September 30, 2016, perform over the relevant future periods at their trailing twelve-months earnings levels, that these rights, if all exercised, could require the Company, in future periods, to pay an aggregate amount of approximately $13,324 to the owners of such rights to acquire such ownership interests in the relevant subsidiaries. Of this amount, the Company is entitled, at its option, to fund approximately $126 by the issuance of share capital. In addition, the Company is obligated under similar contractual rights to pay an aggregate amount of approximately $43,790 only upon termination of such owner’s employment with the applicable subsidiary or death. The amount the Company would be required to pay to the noncontrolling interest holders should the Company acquire the remaining ownership interests is $3,060 less than the initial redemption value recorded in redeemable noncontrolling interests. Included in redeemable noncontrolling interests at September 30, 2016 was $60,174 of these options to purchase because they are not within the control of the Company. The ultimate amount payable relating to these transactions will vary because it is dependent on the future results of operations of the subject businesses and the timing of when these rights are exercised. Natural Disasters. Certain of the Company’s operations are located in regions of the United States which typically are subject to hurricanes. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, these operations did not incur any costs related to damages resulting from hurricanes. Guarantees. Generally, the Company has indemnified the purchasers of certain assets in the event that a third party asserts a claim against the purchaser that relates to a liability retained by the Company. These types of indemnification guarantees typically extend for a number of years. Historically, the Company has not made any significant indemnification payments under such agreements and no amount has been accrued in the accompanying consolidated financial statements with respect to these indemnification guarantees. The Company continues to monitor the conditions that are subject to guarantees and indemnifications to identify whether it is probable that a loss has occurred, and would recognize any such losses under any guarantees or indemnifications in the period when those losses are probable and estimable. Legal Proceedings. The Company’s operating entities are involved in legal proceedings of various types. While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, the Company has no reason to believe that the outcome of such proceedings or claims will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations of the Company, except as set forth below in connection with the SEC investigation and the related class action litigation claims. SEC Investigation Update The Special Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”) and management have continued to fully cooperate with the SEC in connection with its ongoing investigation of the Company. Mr. Nadal resigned from his position as CEO and as a Director of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective July 20, 2015, and agreed to repay to the Company specified expenses paid by the Company on his behalf and prior cash bonus awards. Specifically, as of December 31, 2015, Mr. Nadal repaid to the Company an aggregate amount equal to $11,285 in respect of perquisites and improper payments identified by the Special Committee. Separately, Mr. Nadal agreed to repay to the Company $10,582 in connection with amounts required to be repaid pursuant to cash bonus awards previously paid to Mr. Nadal, with such repayments to be made in five installments, with the last to be paid on December 31, 2017. Mr. Nadal repaid to the Company the first installment of $1,000 in September 2015 and the second installment of $1,500 in December 2015. The Company recorded a charge of approximately $5,338 in the third quarter of 2015 for the balance of prior cash bonus award amounts that will not be recovered. The SEC investigation remains ongoing. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company has received insurance proceeds, net of professional expenses incurred of $2,463 and $725, respectively, relating to the ongoing SEC investigation. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company incurred $2,722 and $12,366, respectively, of professional expenses. Class Action Litigation On July 31, 2015, North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District Firefighter Pension Plan (“North Collier”) filed a putative class action suit in the Southern District of New York, naming as defendants MDC, CFO David Doft, former CEO Miles Nadal, and former CAO Mike Sabatino. On December 11, 2015, North Collier and co-lead plaintiff Plymouth County Retirement Association filed an amended complaint, adding two additional defendants, Mitchell Gendel and Michael Kirby, a former member of MDC’s Board of Directors. The plaintiff alleges in the amended complaint violations of § 10(b), Rule 10b-5, and § 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, based on allegedly materially false and misleading statements in the Company’s SEC filings and other public statements regarding executive compensation, goodwill accounting, and the Company’s internal controls. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint on February 9, 2016, the lead plaintiffs filed an opposition to that motion on April 8, 2016, and the Company filed a reply brief on May 9, 2016. By order granted on September 30, 2016, the U.S. District Court presiding over the case granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ amended complaint in its entirety with prejudice. On November 2, 2016, the lead plaintiffs filed a notice to appeal the U.S. District Court's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On August 7, 2015, Roberto Paniccia issued a Statement of Claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the City of Brantford, Ontario seeking to certify a class action suit naming the following as defendants: MDC, former CEO Miles S. Nadal, former CAO Michael C. Sabatino, CFO David Doft and BDO U.S.A. LLP. The Plaintiff alleges violations of section 138.1 of the Ontario Securities Act (and equivalent legislation in other Canadian provinces and territories) as well as common law misrepresentation based on allegedly materially false and misleading statements in the Company’s public statements, as well as omitting to disclose material facts with respect to the SEC investigation. The Company intends to continue to vigorously defend this suit. A case management judge has now been appointed but a date for an initial case conference has not yet been set. Commitments. At September 30, 2016, the Company had issued $4,597 of undrawn outstanding letters of credit. In addition, the Company has commitments to fund investments in an aggregate amount of $891.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments, contingencies, and guarantees. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsContingenciesAndGuaranteesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration