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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2018
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

(13) Commitments and Contingencies:

 

Litigation

In January 2018, Gemini Technologies, Incorporated, or Gemini, commenced an action against us and Smith & Wesson Corp. in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, or District Court.  The complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants breached the earn-out and other provisions of the Asset Purchase Agreement and ancillary agreements between the parties in connection with Smith & Wesson Corp.’s acquisition of the Gemtech business from Gemini.  The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment interpreting various terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement and damages in the sum of $18.6 million. In May 2018, the District Court dismissed the complaint on the grounds of forum non conveniens. In June 2018, Gemini appealed the decision dismissing its complaint to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We believe the claims asserted in the complaint have no merit, and we intend to aggressively defend this action.    

 

We are a defendant in seven product liability cases and are aware of seven other product liability claims, primarily alleging defective product design, defective manufacturing, or failure to provide adequate warnings. In addition, we are a co-defendant in a case filed on August 27, 1999 by the city of Gary, Indiana against numerous firearm manufacturers, distributors, and dealers seeking to recover monetary damages, as well as injunctive relief, allegedly arising out of the misuse of firearms by third parties. In January 2018, the trial court granted defendants’ Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings, dismissing the case in its entirety. In February 2018, plaintiffs appealed the dismissal to the Indiana Court of Appeals. In May 2018, we were named in an action related to the Parkland, Florida shooting, filed in the Circuit Court, Broward County, Florida, seeking a declaratory judgement that a Florida statute that provides firearm manufacturers and dealers immunity from liability when their legally manufactured and lawfully sold firearms are later used in criminal acts only applies to civil actions commenced by governmental agencies not private litigants. In August 2018, we moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that it seeks an impermissible advisory opinion.

 

We believe that the various allegations as described above are unfounded, and, in addition, that any accident and any results from them or any injuries were due to negligence or misuse of the firearm by the claimant or a third party.

In addition, from time to time, we are involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations, and proceedings, including commercial, environmental, and employment matters, which arise in the ordinary course of business.

The relief sought in individual cases primarily includes compensatory and, sometimes, punitive damages. Certain of the cases and claims seek unspecified compensatory or punitive damages. In others, compensatory damages sought may range from less than $75,000 to approximately $350,000. In our experience, initial demands do not generally bear a reasonable relationship to the facts and circumstances of a particular matter. We believe that our accruals for product liability cases and claims, as described below, are a reasonable quantitative measure of the cost to us of product liability cases and claims.

We are vigorously defending ourselves in the lawsuits to which we are subject. An unfavorable outcome or prolonged litigation could harm our business. Litigation of this nature also is expensive, time consuming, and diverts the time and attention of our management.

We monitor the status of known claims and the related product liability accrual, which includes amounts for defense costs for asserted and unasserted claims. After consultation with litigation counsel and a review of the merit of each claim, we have concluded that we are unable to reasonably estimate the probability or the estimated range of reasonably possible losses related to material adverse judgments related to such claims and, therefore, we have not accrued for any such judgments. In the future, should we determine that a loss (or an additional loss in excess of our accrual) is at least reasonably possible and material, we would then disclose an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss, if such estimate could be made, or disclose that an estimate could not be made. We believe that we have provided adequate accruals for defense costs.

We have recorded our liability for defense costs before consideration for reimbursement from insurance carriers. We have also recorded the amount due as reimbursement under existing policies from the insurance carriers as a receivable shown in other current assets and other assets.

At this time, an estimated range of reasonably possible additional losses relating to unfavorable outcomes cannot be made.

Leases

In fiscal 2017, we announced a plan to establish a national logistics facility in Boone County, Missouri. We ultimately plan to rely on this logistics facility for substantially all of our product distribution. In fiscal 2018, we broke ground on our new 633,000 square foot facility, which is currently scheduled to be completed and operational in fiscal 2019. The building for our national logistics facility will be treated as a capital lease and will be recorded in construction in progress, offset by a capital lease payable throughout building construction and will have no impact on cash flow. The total cost of the building is estimated to be between $45.0 million and $50.0 million, of which we expect approximately $30.0 million to $35.0 million will be recorded as a right of use asset on our condensed consolidated balance sheet when construction is complete. In addition, we expect to spend between $25.0 million and $30.0 million related to material handling equipment, information technology systems, and other capital projects in support of our national logistics facility. As of July 31, 2018, we have recorded $34.0 million in construction in progress, which is included in property, plant, and equipment in our condensed consolidated balance sheet, for costs incurred by the builder relating to the purchase of land and costs related to the design and construction of the building, offset by a $34.0 million capital lease payable which is included in capital lease payable, net of current portion, in our condensed consolidated balance sheet.