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Legal Proceedings | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Proceedings | 12. Legal Proceedings — The Company records a liability on its consolidated financial statements for loss contingencies when a loss is known or considered probable, and the amount can be reasonably estimated. When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of a loss to be recorded. The Company recognizes legal expenses in connection with loss contingencies as incurred. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency Investigation. On November 10, 2016, AMVAC was served with a grand jury subpoena from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, seeking documents regarding the importation, transportation, and management of a specific pesticide. The Company retained defense counsel to assist in responding to the subpoena and otherwise in defending the Company’s interests. AMVAC is cooperating in the investigation. After interviewing multiple witnesses (including three employees before a grand jury in February 2022) and making multiple document requests, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) identified the Company and a manager-level employee as targets of the government’s investigation. DOJ’s investigation focused on potential violations of two environmental statutes, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), as well as obstruction of an agency proceeding and false statement statutes. In March 2022, the individual target entered into a plea agreement relating to provision of false information in a government proceeding. In July 2022, the DoJ sent correspondence to the Company’s counsel to the effect that it was focusing on potential RCRA violations relating to the reimportation of Australian containers in 2015. Our defense counsel conferred with DoJ from time to time over the past 18 months in the interest in resolving the matter. In January 2024, the Company and DoJ reached an agreement in principle, which is subject to approval by the cognizant court and with respect to which the Company has recorded a loss contingency. A Company representative intends to attend a hearing to enter a plea on the matter in late May 2024. The governmental agencies involved in this investigation have a range of civil and criminal penalties they may seek to impose against corporations and individuals for violations of FIFRA, RCRA and other federal statutes including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, fines, penalties and modifications to business practices and compliance programs, including the appointment of a monitor. If violations are established, the amount of any fines or monetary penalties which could be assessed and the scope of possible non-monetary relief would depend on, among other factors, findings regarding the amount, timing, nature and scope of the violations, and the level of cooperation provided to the governmental authorities during the investigation. Based upon the content of agreement, in principle, the Company does not believe that the investigation will have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, operations, financial condition or cash flow. Pitre etc. v. Agrocentre Ladauniere et al. On February 11, 2022, a strawberry grower named Les Enterprises Pitre, Inc. filed a complaint in the Superior Court, District of Labelle, Province of Quebec, Canada, entitled Pitre, etc. v. Agrocentre Ladauniere, Inc. etal, including Amvac Chemical Corporation, seeking damages in the amount of approximately $5 million arising from stunted growth of, and reduced yield from, its strawberry crop allegedly from the application of Amvac’s soil fumigant, Vapam, in spring of 2021. Examinations of plaintiff were held in mid-August 2022, during which plaintiff in effect confirmed that he had planted his seedlings before expiration of the full time interval following product application (as per the product label), that he had failed to follow the practice of planting a few test seedlings before planting an entire farm, and that he had placed his blind trust in his application adviser on all manner of timing and rate. The examination of the Company’s most knowledgeable witness took place in April 2024. The Company believes that the claims have no merit and intends to defend the matter. At this stage in the proceedings, there is not sufficient information to form a judgment as to either the probability or amount of loss; thus, the company has not set aside a reserve in connection with this matter. Notice of Intention to Suspend DCPA. On April 28, 2022, the USEPA published a notice of intent to suspend (“NOITS”) DCPA, the active ingredient of an herbicide marketed by the Company under the name Dacthal. The agency cited as the basis for the suspension that the Company did not take appropriate steps to provide data studies requested in support of the registration review. In fact, over the course of several years, the Company cooperated in performing the vast majority of the nearly 90 studies requested by USEPA and had been working in good faith to meet the agency’s schedule. After proceedings in law and motion, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with USEPA pursuant to which the parties set a timeline for the submission of remaining studies, which, if approved by the agency, would result in reinstatement of the registration. The Company submitted the studies in question, the agency reviewed them, and the registration was reinstated in November 2023. After that reinstatement, the agency resumed registration review, during which it expressed concern over the potential health effects on farm workers in early stages of pregnancy. These concerns arose over a comparative thyroid assay (“CTA”), a relatively new and complex study, which indicated an effect on fetal rodents. In an effort to meet the agency’s concerns, over a period of several months, the Company provided significant training to USEPA on actual use patterns for Dacthal, worker re-entry practices, size of fields treated per diem and geographical focus. Nevertheless, in April 2024, USEPA concluded that, despite the mitigation measures and other information proposed by the Company and due to its safety concerns, the agency was at an impasse in advancing its registration review of the then current label. Accordingly, out of an abundance of caution, the Company submitted a significantly narrower label and voluntarily suspended sales of Dacthal pending review and potential approval of that label. The outcome of the agency’s review is uncertain at present.

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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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