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Contingent Liabilities | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015
Contingent Liabilities [Abstract] |
Contingent Liabilities |
16. | Contingent Liabilities
As of December 31, 2015, the Company was a defendant in three (3) lawsuits and is aware of certain other claims. The lawsuits fall into three categories: traditional product liability patent litigation and municipal litigation, discussed in turn below. Traditional Product Liability Litigation One of the three lawsuits mentioned above involves a claim for damages related to an allegedly defective product due to its design and/or manufacture. This lawsuit stems from a specific incident of personal injury and is based on traditional product liability theories such as strict liability, negligence and/or breach of warranty. The Company management believes that the allegations in this case are unfounded, that the incident was unrelated to the design or manufacture of the firearm, and that there should be no recovery against the Company. Patent Litigation During the three months ending December 31, 2015, one case was formally instituted against the Company, captioned Davies Innovations Inc. v. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division. The suit is based upon alleged patent infringement as the plaintiff claims that certain features of the Ruger SR-556 and SR-762 modern sporting rifles infringe its patent. The complaint seeks a judgment of infringement and unspecified monetary damages including costs, fees and treble damages. The Company management believes that the allegations in this case are unfounded, that there is no infringement of plaintiff's patent, that plaintiff's patent is invalid, and that there should be no recovery against the Company. Municipal Litigation Municipal litigation generally includes those cases brought by cities or other governmental entities against firearms manufacturers, distributors and retailers seeking to recover damages allegedly arising out of the misuse of firearms by third-parties. There is only one remaining lawsuit of this type, filed by the City of Gary in Indiana State Court, over fifteen years ago. The complaint in that case seeks damages, among other things, for the costs of medical care, police and emergency services, public health services, and other services as well as punitive damages. In addition, nuisance abatement and/or injunctive relief is sought to change the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution practices of the various defendants. The suit alleges, among other claims, negligence in the design of products, public nuisance, negligent distribution and marketing, negligence per se and deceptive advertising. The case does not allege a specific injury to a specific individual as a result of the misuse or use of any of the Company's products. After a long procedural history, the case was scheduled for trial on June 15, 2009. The case was not tried on that date and was largely dormant until a status conference was held on July 27, 2015. At that time, the court entered a scheduling order setting deadlines for plaintiff to file a Second Amended Complaint, for defendants to answer, and for defendants to file dispositive motions. The plaintiff did not file a Second Amended Complaint by the deadline. Last year, Indiana passed a new law that such that Indiana Code § 34-12-3-1 applies to the City's case. The defendants have filed a joint motion for judgment on the pleadings, asserting immunity under §34-12-3-1 and asking the court to re-visit the Court of Appeals' decision holding the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act inapplicable to the City's claims. The motion is being briefed by the parties and currently is set for hearing on April 26, 2016. Summary of Claimed Damages and Explanation of Product Liability Accruals Punitive damages, as well as compensatory damages, are demanded in certain of the lawsuits and claims. For product liability claims made after July 10, 2000, coverage is provided on an annual basis for losses exceeding $5 million per claim, or an aggregate maximum loss of $10 million annually, except for certain new claims which might be brought by governments or municipalities after July 10, 2000, which are excluded from coverage. The Company management monitors the status of known claims and the product liability accrual, which includes amounts for asserted and unasserted claims. While it is not possible to forecast the outcome of litigation or the timing of costs, in the opinion of management, after consultation with special and corporate counsel, it is not probable and is unlikely that litigation, including punitive damage claims, will have a material adverse effect on the financial position of the Company, but may have a material impact on the Company's financial results for a particular period. Product liability claim payments are made when appropriate if, as, and when claimants and the Company reach agreement upon an amount to finally resolve all claims. Legal costs are paid as the lawsuits and claims develop, the timing of which may vary greatly from case to case. A time schedule cannot be determined in advance with any reliability concerning when payments will be made in any given case. Provision is made for product liability claims based upon many factors related to the severity of the alleged injury and potential liability exposure, based upon prior claim experience. Because the Company's experience in defending these lawsuits and claims is that unfavorable outcomes are typically not probable or estimable, only in rare cases is an accrual established for such costs. In most cases, an accrual is established only for estimated legal defense costs. Product liability accruals are periodically reviewed to reflect then-current estimates of possible liabilities and expenses incurred to date and reasonably anticipated in the future. Threatened product liability claims are reflected in the Company's product liability accrual on the same basis as actual claims; i.e., an accrual is made for reasonably anticipated possible liability and claims-handling expenses on an ongoing basis. A range of reasonably possible loss relating to unfavorable outcomes cannot be made. However, in product liability cases in which a dollar amount of damages is claimed, the amount of damages claimed, which totaled $0.1 million and $0.0 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, are set forth as an indication of possible maximum liability that the Company might be required to incur in these cases (regardless of the likelihood or reasonable probability of any or all of this amount being awarded to claimants) as a result of adverse judgments that are sustained on appeal. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014 the Company was a defendant in 3 and 2 lawsuits, respectively, involving its products and is aware of other such claims. During 2015 and 2014, respectively, 2 and 0 claims were filed against the Company, 1 and 2 claims were settled, and no claims were dismissed in either year. The Company's product liability expense was $0.9 million in 2015, $0.8 million in 2014, and $1.3 million in 2013. This expense includes the cost of outside legal fees, insurance, and other expenses incurred in the management and defense of product liability matters. A roll-forward of the product liability reserve and detail of product liability expense for the three years ended December 31, 2015 follows: Balance Sheet Roll-forward for Product Liability Reserve
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Cash Payments |  |  |
|  | Balance Beginning of Year (a) |  |  | Accrued Legal Expense (Income) (b) |  |  | Legal Fees (c) |  |  | Settlements (d) |  |  | Balance End of Year (a) |
2013 |  | $ | 1,057 |  |  |  | 230 |  |  |  | (44 | ) |  |  | (7 | ) |  | $ | 1,236 |
2014 |  | $ | 1,236 |  |  |  | (295 | ) |  |  | (18 | ) |  |  | (78 | ) |  | $ | 845 |
2015 |  | $ | 845 |  |  |  | (77 | ) |  |  | (18 | ) |  |  | (6 | ) |  | $ | 744 |
Income Statement Detail for Product Liability Expense
|  | Accrued Legal Expense (b) |  |  | Insurance Premium Expense (e) |  |  | Total Product Liability Expense |
2013 |  | $ | 230 |  |  |  | 1,023 |  |  | $ | 1,253 |
2014 |  | $ | (295 | ) |  |  | 1,069 |  |  | $ | 774 |
2015 |  | $ | (77 | ) |  |  | 997 |  |  | $ | 920 |
Notes
(a) | The beginning and ending liability balances represent accrued legal fees only. Settlements and administrative costs are expensed as incurred. Only in rare instances is an accrual established for settlements.
(b) | The expense accrued in the liability is for legal fees only. In 2014 and 2015, the costs incurred related to cases that were settled or dismissed were less than the amounts accrued for these cases in prior years.
(c) | Legal fees represent payments to outside counsel related to product liability matters.
(d) | Settlements represent payments made to plaintiffs or allegedly injured parties in exchange for a full and complete release of liability.
(e) | Insurance expense represents the cost of insurance premiums.
There were no insurance recoveries during any of the above years.

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