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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Insurance Reserves
We maintain insurance coverage for various aspects of our operations. However, we retain exposure to potential losses through the use of deductibles, self-insured retentions and coverage limits.
Typically our contracts require us to indemnify our customers for injury, damage or loss arising from the performance of our services and provide warranties for materials and workmanship. We may also be required to name the customer as an additional insured up to the limits of insurance available, or we may be required to purchase special insurance policies or surety bonds for specific customers or provide letters of credit in lieu of bonds to satisfy performance and financial guarantees on some projects. We maintain a performance and payment bonding line sufficient to support the business. We generally require our subcontractors to indemnify us and our customer and name us as an additional insured for activities arising out of the subcontractors’ work. We also require certain subcontractors to provide additional insurance policies, including surety bonds in favor of us, to secure the subcontractors’ work or as required by the subcontract.
There can be no assurance that our insurance and the additional insurance coverage provided by our subcontractors will fully protect us against a valid claim or loss under the contracts with our customers.
Litigation
In 2020, we commenced litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division (Matrix North American Construction, Inc. v. Pro-Tec Coating Company, LLC, Case No. 3:20-cv-00084-JZ) in an effort to collect an account receivable from an iron and steel customer on a reimbursable contract following the deterioration of the relationship. In connection with our suit, the customer filed certain counterclaims against us. In September 2023, a jury returned a verdict in our favor and awarded us the full contract balance. We received full payment of the remaining amount owed of $16.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
In January 2021, we achieved mechanical completion on a crude oil storage project. On April 1, 2022, we filed an arbitration demand against Keyera Energy, Inc. in an effort to collect outstanding balances of $32.7 million related to the project. In response, on June 2, 2022, the customer filed counterclaims seeking $20.0 million, which included liquidated damages and damages with respect to miscellaneous warranty items. On October 31, 2022, the customer amended its counterclaim claiming
damages in a range of $18.8 million to $36.0 million, which included estimated amounts for “potential future costs.” In July 2024, the customer filed a second amended counterclaim which significantly increased the amount of alleged damages to a range of $69.6 million to $97.9 million, including a new claim for unspecified “other damages” of $46.9 million. A portion of the total alleged damages, if we are held liable, may be subject to certain insurance coverages. We believe we have substantial legal and contractual defenses to the claims presented, and are vigorously contesting the claims.
During fiscal 2023, we completed construction services on a time and materials basis for a customer at a mining and minerals facility. In late fiscal 2023, after numerous attempts to collect outstanding receivables, we filed a notice of default for lack of payment of outstanding balances, and in early fiscal 2024, we filed a lien on the facility. The customer, 5E Boron Americas, LLC, responded by commencing litigation against us on July 17, 2023 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division (5E Boron Americas, LLC v. Matrix Service Inc., Case No. 5:23-cv-01396-AB(DTBx)), alleging breach of contract and breach of express warranty. We denied all claims and filed a countersuit against the customer for failure to pay amounts due of $5.6 million.
We believe we have set appropriate reserves based on our evaluation of the possible outcomes for the matters described above. However, the results of litigation are inherently unpredictable, and the possibility exists that the ultimate resolution of one or more of these matters could result in a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity. We and our subsidiaries are participants in various other legal actions. It is the opinion of management that none of the other known legal actions will have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.