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Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
Contingencies |
Contingencies |
15. | Contingencies
The Company is a party to outstanding legal proceedings, investigations and claims as described below. The Company believes that it is unlikely that the outcome of each of these matters, including the matters discussed below, will have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries as a whole, notwithstanding that the unfavorable resolution of any matter may have a material effect on the Company’s net earnings (if any) in any particular quarter. However, the Company cannot predict with any certainty the outcome of any legal proceedings, investigations (including any settlement discussions with the government seeking to resolve such investigations) or claims made against it or its subsidiaries described in the paragraphs below, and there can be no assurance that the ultimate resolution of any such matter will not have a material adverse impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The Company records accruals for certain of its outstanding legal proceedings, investigations or claims when it is probable that a liability will be incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company evaluates, on a quarterly basis, developments in legal proceedings, investigations and claims that could affect the amount of any accrual, as well as any developments that would make a loss contingency both probable and reasonably estimable. When a loss contingency is not both probable and reasonably estimable, the Company does not accrue the loss. However, if the loss (or an additional loss in excess of the accrual) is at least a reasonable possibility and material, then the Company discloses a reasonable estimate of the possible loss or range of loss, if such reasonable estimate can be made. If the Company cannot make a reasonable estimate of the possible loss, or range of loss, then that is disclosed. The assessments whether a loss is probable or a reasonable possibility, and whether the loss or range of loss is reasonably estimable, often involve a series of complex judgments about future events. Among the factors that the Company considers in this assessment are the nature of existing legal proceedings, investigations and claims, the asserted or possible damages or loss contingency (if reasonably estimable), the progress of the matter, existing law and precedent, the opinions or views of legal counsel and other advisers, the involvement of the U.S. Government and its agencies in such proceedings, the Company’s experience in similar matters and the experience of other companies, the facts available to the Company at the time of assessment, and how the Company intends to respond, or has responded, to the proceeding, investigation or claim. The Company’s assessment of these factors may change over time as individual proceedings, investigations or claims progress. For matters where the Company is not currently able to reasonably estimate a range of reasonably possible loss, the factors that have contributed to this determination include the following: (i) the damages sought are indeterminate, or an investigation has not manifested itself in a filed civil or criminal complaint, (ii) the matters are in the early stages, (iii) the matters involve novel or unsettled legal theories or a large or uncertain number of actual or potential cases or parties, and/or (iv) discussions with the government or other parties in matters that may be expected ultimately to be resolved through negotiation and settlement have not reached the point where the Company believes a reasonable estimate of loss, or range of loss, can be made. In such instances, the Company believes that there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing or ultimate resolution of such matters, including a possible eventual loss, fine, penalty or business impact, if any. In addition to the matters described in the paragraphs below, in the normal course of our business, the Company is involved in various lawsuits from time to time and may be subject to certain other contingencies. To the extent losses related to these contingencies are both probable and reasonably estimable, the Company accrues appropriate amounts in the accompanying financial statements and provides disclosures as to the possible range of loss in excess of the amount accrued, if such range is reasonable estimable. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has recognized an aggregate accrual of $1.2 million for such additional matters. The Company believes additional losses are individually and collectively immaterial as to a possible loss and range of loss. Litigation Matters Related To Blackstone Medical, Inc. and Related Escrow Claims On or about July 23, 2007, the Company’s subsidiary, Blackstone Medical, Inc. (“Blackstone”) received a subpoena issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the authority of the federal healthcare anti-kickback and false claims statutes. The subpoena sought documents for the period January 1, 2000 through July 31, 2006, which is prior to Blackstone’s acquisition by the Company. The Company believes that the subpoena concerned the compensation of physician consultants and related matters. On September 17, 2007, the Company submitted a claim for indemnification from the escrow fund established in connection with the agreement and plan of merger between the Company, New Era Medical Corp. and Blackstone, dated as of August 4, 2006 (the “Blackstone Merger Agreement”), for any losses to the Company resulting from this matter. The Company was subsequently notified by legal counsel for the former shareholders that the representative of the former shareholders of Blackstone objected to the indemnification claim and intends to contest it in accordance with the terms of the Blackstone Merger Agreement. On or about January 7, 2008, the Company received a federal grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The subpoena sought documents from the Company for the period January 1, 2000 through July 15, 2007. The Company believes that the subpoena concerned the compensation of physician consultants and related matters, and further believes that it was associated with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s investigation of such matters. On September 18, 2008, the Company submitted a claim for indemnification from the escrow fund established in connection with the Blackstone Merger Agreement for any losses to the Company resulting from this matter. On or about April 29, 2009, counsel received a HIPAA subpoena issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. The subpoena sought documents from the Company for the period January 1, 2000 through July 15, 2007. The Company believes that the subpoena concerned the compensation of physician consultants and related matters, and further believes that it was associated with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s investigation of such matters, as well as the January 7, 2008 federal grand jury subpoena. On or about August 26, 2010, counsel for Orthofix Inc. and Blackstone executed a tolling agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts (the “Tolling Agreement”) that extended an agreement tolling the statute of limitations applicable to any criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings that the government might later initiate to include the period from December 1, 2008 through and including October 31, 2010. On or about February 1, 2011, the parties further extended the tolling of the statute of limitations through and including May 31, 2011 with respect to any criminal proceedings that the government might later initiate. On or about December 5, 2008, the Company obtained a copy of a qui tam complaint filed by Susan Hutcheson and Philip Brown against Blackstone and the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A qui tam action is a civil lawsuit brought by an individual for an alleged violation of a federal statute, in which the U.S. Department of Justice has the right to intervene and take over the prosecution of the lawsuit at its option. On September 18, 2008, after being informed of the existence of the lawsuit by representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice and prior to the unsealing of the complaint (which was unsealed by the court on or about November 24, 2008), the Company submitted a claim for indemnification from the escrow fund established in connection with the Blackstone Merger Agreement for any losses to the Company resulting from this matter. On November 21, 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a notice of non-intervention in the case. The complaint was served on Blackstone on or about March 24, 2009. Counsel for the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on June 4, 2009. The amended complaint sets forth a cause of action against Blackstone under the False Claims Act for alleged inappropriate payments and other items of value conferred on physician consultants; Orthofix is not named as a defendant in the amended complaint. The Company understands that this lawsuit was related to the matters described above involving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Department of Justice. On or about March 12, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted Blackstone’s motion to dismiss and, on March 15, 2010, entered judgment in favor of Blackstone. On June 1, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the motion to dismiss and remanded to the district court for further proceedings. In response to a joint motion to stay the action, on August 22, 2011, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered an order administratively closing the lawsuit for a period of no more than ninety (90) days. On August 30, 2011, Blackstone filed with the United States Supreme Court a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to review the June 1, 2011 judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which was denied on December 5, 2011. In January 2012, after a series of ongoing discussions and negotiations with the Boston USAO, the Company’s board of directors approved an agreement in principle to pay $32 million to resolve the matters described in the immediately preceding two paragraphs. The Company is currently in discussions with the Boston USAO, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”), as to the terms of definitive written agreements to finally resolve these matters. Based on information currently available, the Company believes that it is probable that a final written definitive settlement agreement with the U.S. Government will be entered into on these economic terms, which, as described below, would be fully funded from the escrow fund established in connection with the Blackstone Merger Agreement. There can be no assurance that we will enter into a consensual resolution of these matters, or what the final terms of any such resolution might be; however, the Company believes that the likelihood of any such additional material loss in excess of this amount is remote. In 2007 and 2008, the Company received certain other subpoenas from state and federal entities related to Blackstone’s financial relationship with physicians, which the Company has described in prior reports. The Company has fully responded to each of these subpoenas, and there are currently no pending proceedings related to any of these matters. Under the Blackstone Merger Agreement, the former shareholders of Blackstone agreed to indemnify the Company for breaches of representations and warranties under the agreement as well as certain other specified matters. These post-closing indemnification obligations of the former Blackstone shareholders were limited to a cumulative aggregate amount of $66.6 million. At closing, an escrow fund was established pursuant to the terms of the Blackstone Merger Agreement to fund timely submitted indemnification claims. The initial amount of the escrow fund was $50.0 million. As of December 31, 2011, the escrow fund, contained $47.5 million. In February 2012, the Company reached an agreement with the representative of the former shareholders of Blackstone resolving all outstanding escrow and indemnification claims under the Blackstone Merger Agreement. Under this agreement, approximately $42.5 million was distributed from the escrow fund to the Company (which will be used, among other things, to fund the proposed $32.0 settlement in principle described above). Each of the Company and the former shareholders also mutually released each other from all further claims against each other related to these matters. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had recognized $15.5 million as “escrow receivables” on the consolidated balance sheet, reflecting previously incurred expenses that the Company believed were reasonably assured of collection. The Company received approximately $9.5 million in cash from the escrow fund after application of (i) the $32.0 million allocated to the settlement in principle described above with the government and (ii) approximately $1 million of other fees incurred with respect to this matter since September 30, 2011. As a result, the Company has recorded a charge of approximately $6 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 for previously incurred legal fees that were reflected in this escrow receivable balance as of September 30, 2011. Matters Related to Regenerative Stimulation Business On or about April 10, 2009, the Company received a HIPAA subpoena (“HIPAA subpoena”) issued by the Boston USAO. The subpoena sought documents concerning, among other things, the Company’s promotion and marketing of its regenerative stimulator devices. The Boston USAO issued supplemental subpoenas seeking documents in this matter, dated September 21, 2009, December 16, 2009, October 13, 2010, October 14, 2010, October 18, 2010, December 3, 2010 and January 13, 2011, respectively. The subpoenas seek documents for the period January 1, 1995 through the date of the respective subpoenas. The Boston USAO also issued two supplemental subpoenas requiring testimony in this matter dated July 23, 2009 and June 3, 2010. That office excused performance with the July 23, 2009 subpoena indefinitely. The Boston USAO has provided the Company with grand jury subpoenas for the testimony of certain current and former employees in connection with its ongoing investigation. The Company has been cooperating, and intends to continue to cooperate, with the government’s requests. In meetings with the Company and its attorneys regarding this matter, the Boston USAO informed the Company that it is investigating possible criminal and civil violations of federal law related to the Company’s promotion and marketing of its regenerative stimulator devices. On or about April 14, 2009, the Company obtained a copy of a qui tam complaint filed by Jeffrey J. Bierman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the Company, Orthofix Inc. and other companies that have allegedly manufactured regenerative stimulation devices, including Orthologic Corp., DJO Incorporated, Reable Therapeutics, Inc., the Blackstone Group, L.P., Biomet, Inc., EBI, L.P., EBI Holdings, Inc., EBI Medical Systems, Inc., Bioelectron, Inc., LBV Acquisition, Inc., and Smith & Nephew, Inc. By order entered on March 24, 2009, the court unsealed the case. The Company and Orthofix Inc. were served on or about September 8, 2009. With leave of the court, the relator’s Second Amended Complaint was filed on June 11, 2010. The complaint alleges various causes of action under the federal False Claims Act and state and city false claims acts premised on the contention that the defendants improperly promoted the sale, as opposed to the rental, of regenerative stimulation devices. The complaint also includes claims against the defendants for, among other things, allegedly misleading physicians and purportedly causing them to file false claims and for allegedly violating the Anti-Kickback Act by providing free products to physicians, waiving patients’ insurance co-payments and providing inducements to independent sales agents to generate business. The Company believes that this lawsuit is related to the matter described above involving the HIPAA subpoena. On or about December 4, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied the Company’s motion to dismiss. On April 28, 2011, after a series of ongoing discussions and negotiations with the Boston USAO, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an agreement in principle proposed by the Boston USAO to resolve the criminal and civil matters described in the immediately preceding two paragraphs. The Company is currently finalizing definitive written agreements with the Boston USAO, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) to finally resolve these matters. The Company expects that under the terms of these agreements, it will pay $43 million, and the Company has recorded a charge of $43 million during the first quarter of 2011 in anticipation of this agreement. The Company expect that (i) its subsidiary, Orthofix Inc., will plead to a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1516 (obstruction of federal audit) related to a June 2008 federal audit, and (ii) Orthofix International N.V. and Orthofix Inc will enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the OIG as part of the resolution of these matters. Based on information currently available, the Company believes that it is probable that a final definitive written settlement agreement with the U.S. Government will be entered into on these terms. The Company has therefore recognized an accrual for $43 million during the first quarter of 2011. There can be no assurance that the Company will enter into a consensual resolution of these matters, or what the final terms of any such resolution might be; however, the Company believes that the likelihood of any such additional material loss in excess of this amount is remote. Matters Related to Promeca During the second quarter of 2010 internal management review of Promeca S.A. de C.V. (“Promeca”), one of the Company’s Mexican subsidiaries, the Company received allegations of improper payments, allegedly made by certain of Promeca’s local employees in Mexico, to employees of a Mexican governmental healthcare entity. The Company engaged Hogan Lovells US LLP and Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP to conduct an internal investigation (the “Promeca Internal Investigation”) focusing on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and voluntarily contacted the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to advise both agencies that an internal investigation was underway. Promeca accounted for approximately one percent of the Company’s consolidated net sales and consolidated total assets. On or about November 16, 2010, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC and DOJ seeking documents related to this matter. The Company has completed its production of documents to the SEC and DOJ in connection with the subpoena. The Company completed the Promeca Internal Investigation in April 2011 and commenced settlement discussions with the U.S. Government regarding this matter in May 2011. In January 2012, the Company reached an agreement in principle to settle these matters with DOJ. We are currently in discussions with DOJ as to the final terms of such resolution, and are also currently engaged in discussions regarding a settlement of such matters with the SEC. The Company previously recorded a charge related to these matters of $3 million during the first quarter of 2011, and have subsequently recorded an additional charge of $4.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 to establish an additional accrual in anticipation of a future final resolution of these matters with both DOJ and the SEC. There can be no assurance that the Company will enter into a consensual resolution of these matters, or what the final terms of any such resolution might be; however, the Company believes based on information known to date that the likelihood of any such additional material loss in excess of this amount is remote. Matters Related to Breg The Company’s subsidiary, Breg, Inc (“Breg”), was engaged in the manufacturing and sale of local infusion pumps for pain management from 1999 to 2008, when the product line was divested. Since 2008, numerous product liability cases have been filed in the United States alleging that the local anesthetic, when dispensed by such infusion pumps inside a joint, causes a rare arthritic condition called “chondrolysis.” The Company believes that meritorious defenses exist to these claims and Breg is vigorously defending these cases. One of our insurance carriers has asserted to us that certain potential losses related to this matter are not covered by our insurance coverage, and we are currently in arbitration with this carrier. We currently cannot reasonably estimate any further possible loss, or range of loss, in connection with these matters. On or about August 2, 2010, Breg received a HIPAA subpoena issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”). The subpoena seeks documents from the Company and its subsidiaries for the period January 1, 2000 through the date of the subpoena. Document production in response to the subpoena is ongoing. The Company believes that this subpoena relates to an investigation by DOJ into whether Breg’s sale, marketing and labeling of local infusion pumps for pain management, prior to Breg’s divestiture of this product line in 2008, complied with FDA regulations and federal law. On January 27, 2012, the Company was orally notified by a U.S. Government official that a civil investigation of Breg was pending in connection with this matter. The Company currently cannot reasonably estimate a possible loss, or range of loss, in connection with these matters. Breg is currently engaged in the manufacturing and sales of motorized cold therapy units used to reduce pain and swelling. Beginning in 2010, several domestic product liability cases have been filed, mostly in California state court, alleging that the use of cold therapy causes skin and/or nerve injury and seeking damages on behalf of individual plaintiffs who were allegedly injured by such units. These cases are at an early stage and no conclusion can be drawn at the present time regarding their potential outcome. However, the Company believes that meritorious defenses exist to these claims. The Company currently cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss, or range of loss, in connection with this matter.

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