COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Non-Compete, Consulting and Employment Agreements

We have various non-compete agreements with former owners and employees. These agreements are generally for one to ten years and provide for periodic future payments over the term of the agreements.

We have various consulting agreements with former owners of businesses we have acquired. Payments for such agreements are generally not made in advance. These agreements are generally for one to five years and provide for bi-weekly or monthly payments.

We have employment agreements with certain of our executive officers and senior leadership. These agreements are generally for three to five years and provide for participation in various incentive compensation arrangements. These agreements generally renew automatically on an annual basis after their initial term has expired.

At December 31, 2019, the maximum estimated future cash commitments under these agreements with remaining commitment terms, and with original terms of more than one year, are as follows (in thousands):



	Non-Compete		Consulting		Employment^(a)		Total
Years ending December 31,
2020	$	2,135	$	869	$	3,482	$	6,486
2021	1,905		663		3,482		6,050
2022	1,465		404		3,077		4,946
2023	993		162		777		1,932
2024	665		20		648		1,333
Thereafter	927		—		—		927
Total	$	8,090	$	2,118	$	11,466	$	21,674




(a)	Melvin C. Payne, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, has an employment agreement that does not renew after the initial term of five years.

401(K) Plan

We sponsor a defined contribution plan (401K) for the benefit of our employees. Matching contributions and plan administrative expenses totaled $1.9 million, $2.1 million and $2.0 million during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. We do not offer any post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

Litigation

We are a party to various litigation matters and proceedings. For each of our outstanding legal matters, we evaluate the merits of the case, our exposure to the matter, possible legal or settlement strategies, and the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome. If we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we establish the necessary accruals. We hold certain insurance policies that may reduce cash outflows with respect to an adverse outcome of certain of these litigation matters.

Faria, et al. v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County, Case No. MSC18-00606. On March 26, 2018, six Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., our subsidiary, their alleged employer, on behalf of themselves and all similarly situated current and former employees. Plaintiffs seek monetary damages and claim that Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. failed to pay minimum wages, provide meal and rest breaks, provide accurately itemized wage statements, reimburse employees for required expenses, and provide wages when due. Plaintiffs also claim that Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. violated California Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq. On June 5, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint to add a claim under the California Private Attorney General Act. On October 23, 2018, the parties mediated this matter and executed a Memorandum of Understanding for class settlement. In February 2019, a Class Action Settlement Agreement was fully executed and was approved by the Court in October 2019. We paid $0.7 million under the settlement agreement in November 2019.