COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

The Company is a defendant in various litigation matters generally arising out of the ordinary course of business. Based on information currently available, the Company does not believe that any additional matters or proceedings presently pending will have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial condition, liquidity or cash flows.

Shareholder Litigation. On July 12, 2019, an amended consolidated class action complaint filed earlier in 2018 was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (the “Court”) by the Public School Teachers’ Pension & Retirement Fund of Chicago and the Cambridge Retirement against Spectrum Brands’ Legacy, Inc. (“Spectrum Legacy”). The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amended complaint added HRG Group, Inc. (“HRG”), the predecessor to the Company, as a defendant and asserted additional claims against the Company on behalf of a purported class of HRG shareholders. The class period of the consolidated amended complaint is from January 26, 2017 to November 19, 2018, and the plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of compensatory damages, interest, attorneys’ and expert fees and costs. During the year ended September 30, 2020, the Company reached a proposed settlement resulting in an insignificant loss, net of third-party insurance coverage and payment, pending final approval by the Court. In February 2021, the Court declined to approve the proposed settlement without prejudice because the Court determined that as a procedural matter the plaintiff’s counsel had not taken the appropriate actions to be appointed to represent the purported class of HRG shareholders. The court subsequently appointed separate counsel to represent the HRG shareholder class. In August 2021, the Company reached an agreement in principle to settle the claims of the Spectrum Legacy class, the cost of which has been defrayed by third-party insurance. In October 2021, the Company reached an agreement in principle to settle the claims of the HRG class, the cost of which also has been defrayed by third-party insurance. In March 2022, the court granted approval to both settlements.

Environmental. The Company has realized commitments attributable to environmental remediation activities primarily associated with former manufacturing sites of the Company's HPC segment. In coordination with local and federal regulatory agencies, we have conducted testing on certain sites which have resulted in the identification of contamination that has been attributed to historic activities at the properties, resulting in the realization of incremental costs to be assumed by the Company towards the remediation of these properties and the recognition of an environmental remediation liability. We have not conducted invasive testing at all sites and locations and have identified an environmental remediation liability to the extent such remediation requirements have been identified and are considered estimable. As of September 30, 2022, there was an environmental remediation liability of $8.8 million with $4.7 million included in Other Current Liabilities and $4.1 million included in Other Long-Term Liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. As of September 30, 2021, there was an environmental remediation liability of $11.3 million included in Other Long-Term Liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. The Company’s environmental remediation liabilities are measured at the expected value of future cash outflows discounted to their present value using a discount rate of 5%. Based on current estimates, the expected payments for environmental remediation for the next five years and thereafter at September 30, 2022 are as follows:


(in millions)	Amount
2023	$	5.0
2024	2.6
2025	0.4
2026	0.3
2027	0.2
Thereafter	1.8
Total payments	10.3
Amount representing interest	(1.5)
Total environmental obligation	$	8.8

The Company believes that any additional liability in excess of the amounts provided that may result from resolution of these matters, will not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

Product Liability. The Company may be named as a defendant in lawsuits involving product liability claims. The Company has recorded and maintains an estimated liability in the amount of management’s estimate for aggregate exposure for such liabilities based upon probable loss from loss reports, individual cases, and losses incurred but not reported. As of September 30, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized $3.4 million and $3.0 million in product liability, respectively, included in Other Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. The Company believes that any additional liability in excess of the amounts provided that may result from resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

Product Warranty. The Company recognizes an estimated liability for standard warranty on certain products when we recognize revenue on the sale of the warranted products. Estimated warranty costs incorporate replacement parts, products and delivery, and are recorded as a cost of goods sold at the time of product shipment based on historical and projected warranty claim rates, claims experience and any additional anticipated future costs on previously sold products. The Company recognized $0.4 million of warranty accruals as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, included in Other Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Statement.

Product Safety Recall. During the fourth quarter of the year ended September 30, 2022, the HPC segment initiated two voluntary product recalls in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC"), suspending sales of the affected products and issuing a stop sale with its customers. The Company has assessed the incremental costs attributable to the recall, including the anticipated returns from customers for existing retail inventory, write-off of inventory on hand, and other costs to facilitate the recall such as notification, shipping and handling, rework and destruction of affected products, as needed, and evaluated the probability of redemption. As a result, the Company recognized $7.5 million in Other Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position associated with the costs for the recalls as of September 30, 2022. Additionally, the Company has indemnification provisions that are contractually provided by third-parties for the affected products and as a result the Company has also recognized $4.7 million in Other Receivables on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position related to recovery from such indemnification provisions. For the year ended September 30, 2022, the Company realized incremental charges of $5.5 million, net of indemnifications, of which $0.5 million was recognized as a reduction in Net Sales for anticipated returns and $4.9 million and $0.1 million as Cost of Goods Sold and General and Administrative Expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations for associated costs.Other. As of September 30, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized legal reserves at our H&G division of approximately $2.0 million and $3.2 million, respectively, attributable to significant and unusual non-recurring claims with no previous history or precedent, included in Other Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.