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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
The Company is from time to time subject to legal proceedings and claims, which arise in the normal course of its business. In the opinion of management and legal counsel, except as disclosed below, the amount of losses or gains that may be sustained, if any, would not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.
On May 4, 2023, the Company filed a patent infringement complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) against Hikam America, Inc., a corporation based in Chula, California, and its related foreign entities (together, “Hikam”), and Voltage LLC, a limited liability company based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and its related foreign entities (together, “Voltage”). The complaint primarily requests that the ITC (i) investigate unlawful imports of certain photovoltaic connectors and components that the Company alleges infringe on two valid and enforceable patents owned by the Company related to improved connectors for solar panel arrays and (ii) issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order against the Hikam respondents and the Voltage respondents to bar them from importing, marketing, distributing, selling, offering for sale, licensing, advertising, transferring, or otherwise using the infringing photovoltaic connectors and components in and into the United States. On July 18, 2023, the Company filed an amended complaint with the ITC, adding allegations that the Voltage respondents also infringe a third, recently-issued patent owned by the Company. Also on May 4, 2023, the Company filed complaints against the Hikam defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and against the Voltage defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on the same subject matter. On June 28, 2023, the Company filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against the Voltage respondents alleging that they also infringe on a third, recently-issued patent owned by the Company. These complaints seek injunctive relief and damages for reasonable royalty and lost profits. The Company intends to vigorously pursue these actions. However, at this stage, the Company is unable to predict the outcome or impact on its business and financial results. The Company is accounting for this matter as a gain contingency, and will record any such gain in future periods if and when the contingency is resolved, in accordance with ASC 450 Contingencies.
Surety Bonds
The Company provides surety bonds to various parties as required for certain transactions initiated during the ordinary course of business to guarantee the Company’s performance in accordance with contractual or legal obligations. As of June 30, 2023, the maximum potential payment obligation with regard to surety bonds was $30.0 million.
Product Warranty
The Company offers an assurance type warranty for its products against manufacturer defects which does not contain a service element. For these assurance type warranties, a provision for estimated future costs related to warranty expense is recorded when they are probable and reasonably estimable. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 our estimated warranty liability was approximately $9.6 million and $0.6 million, respectively.
The Company has been notified by certain customers that a subset of wire harnesses used in its EBOS solutions is presenting excessive pull back of wire insulation at connection points (“shrinkback”). Based upon the Company’s ongoing assessment, the Company currently believes the shrinkback is related to wire provided by one specific supplier. The Company believes it is probable that it will incur costs related to the repair or replacement of the impacted wire harnesses. Based on the Company’s analysis of information available as of the date of this Quarterly Report, the Company has determined that it has sufficient information to estimate the low end of the range of potential outcomes. However, the Company continues to be unable to estimate the upper end of the range of potential outcomes based on the limited information available as of the date of this Quarterly Report, including the scope of affected sites, potential solutions and the possibility of recovery from the wire supplier. No amount within the range of potential outcomes appears to be a better estimate than any other amount within the range. Accordingly, as of June 30, 2023, the Company has recorded a warranty liability of $9.3 million related to this matter, representing the low end of the range of potential outcomes. The Company is continuing its investigation of this matter to determine a course of action, and has ceased use of the related wire from this supplier. As additional information becomes available, the Company may increase its estimated warranty liability from its current accrual, and such increase may be material. The Company does not maintain insurance for product warranty, continues to work with the supplier, and as necessary, intends to seek recovery. Potential recovery from the third party supplier has not been considered in our estimate of the warranty liability as of June 30, 2023.