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Legal Proceedings | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Proceedings | (8) Legal Proceedings Consumer Litigation. We are routinely involved in various legal proceedings resulting from our consumer finance activities and practices, both continuing and discontinued. Consumers can and do initiate lawsuits against us alleging violations of law applicable to collection of receivables, and such lawsuits sometimes allege that resolution as a class action is appropriate. For the most part, we have legal and factual defenses to consumer claims, which we routinely contest or settle (for immaterial amounts) depending on the particular circumstances of each case. Following our filing of a complaint for a deficiency judgment in the Superior Court at Waterbury, Connecticut, the defendant filed a cross-claim on October 16, 2019 alleging that our deficiency notices were not compliant with Connecticut law, and seeking relief on behalf of a class of Connecticut obligors whose vehicles we had repossessed. The complaint seeks primarily damages, injunctive relief, waiver of contract deficiencies, and attorney fees and interest. The defendant’s contract provided for resolution of disputes exclusively by arbitration, and exclusively on an individual basis, not a class basis. Nevertheless, in August 2021, the court denied our motion to compel arbitration, without opinion. In April 2024, a motion for certification of a class was filed but has not been ruled upon. It is reasonable to expect that resolution of these claims will be on a class basis. Wage and Hour Claim. On September 24, 2018, a former employee filed a lawsuit against us in the Superior Court of Orange County, California, alleging that we incorrectly classified our sales representatives as outside salespersons exempt from overtime wages, mandatory break periods and certain other employee protective provisions of California and federal law. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, an award of unpaid wages, liquidated damages, and attorney fees and interest. The plaintiff purports to act on behalf of a class of similarly situated employees and ex-employees. We believe that our compensation practices with respect to our sales representatives are compliant with applicable law. In August 2023, the parties settled by agreement the claims of the plaintiff and a California settlement class for $1.1 million. The settlement was preliminarily approved by the court on March 1, 2024 and remains subject to final court approval. Massachusetts Civil Investigative Demand. In September 2021, we received a civil investigative demand from the Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts relating to the Company’s communications with and repossession notices sent to Massachusetts customers. On December 28, 2023 and without admitting any wrongdoing, the Company entered into an assurance of discontinuance with the Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, reflecting the parties’ agreements to settle and fully resolve allegations of the Company’s noncompliance with Massachusetts law. Under the settlement the Company paid, after March 31, 2024, $1.24 million to an independent trust for the purposes of making payments to eligible consumers, paying costs of implementation, and paying the Attorney General’s costs of investigation. In addition, the Company agreed to pay $75,000 for the fees and costs of a trustee to oversee the trust. In General. There can be no assurance as to the outcomes of the matters described or referenced above. We record at each measurement date, most recently as of March 31, 2024, our best estimate of probable incurred losses for legal contingencies, including the matters identified above. The amount of losses that may ultimately be incurred cannot be estimated with certainty. However, based on such information as is available to us, we believe that the total of probable incurred losses for legal contingencies as of March 31, 2024 is $3.6 million, and that the range of reasonably possible losses for the legal proceedings and contingencies we face, including those described or identified above, as of March 31, 2024 does not exceed $5.6 million. Accordingly, we believe that the ultimate resolution of such legal proceedings and contingencies should not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition. We note, however, that in light of the uncertainties inherent in contested proceedings there can be no assurance that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not be material to our operating results for a particular period, depending on, among other factors, the size of the loss or liability imposed and the level of our income for that period.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for legal proceedings, legal contingencies, litigation, regulatory and environmental matters and other contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Topic 450 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//450/tableOfContent + Details
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