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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Jul. 29, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies | 15. Commitments and Contingencies Chromatex Environmental Claim A lawsuit was filed against us and other defendants (Chromatex, Inc., Rossville Industries, Inc., Rossville Companies, Inc. and Rossville Investments, Inc.) on February 5, 2008 in United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs are Alan Shulman, Stanley Siegel, Ruth Cherenson as Personal Representative of Estate of Alan Cherenson, and Adrienne Rolla and M.F. Rolla as Executors of the Estate of Joseph Byrnes. The plaintiffs were partners in a general partnership that formerly owned a manufacturing plant in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania (the “Site”). Approximately two years after this general partnership sold the Site to defendants Chromatex, Inc. and Rossville Industries, Inc., we leased and operated the Site as part of our Rossville/Chromatex division. The lawsuit involves court judgments that have been entered against the plaintiffs and against defendant Chromatex, Inc. requiring them to pay costs incurred by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) responding to environmental contamination at the Site, in amounts approximating $8.6 million, plus unspecified future environmental costs. We understand that the USEPA’s costs now exceed $13 million, but are not expected to increase significantly in the future. Neither USEPA nor any other governmental authority has asserted any claim against us on account of these matters. The plaintiffs seek contribution from us and other defendants and a declaration that the company and the other defendants are responsible for environmental response costs under environmental laws and certain agreements. The plaintiffs also assert that we tortiously interfered with contracts between them and other defendants in the case and diverted assets to prevent the plaintiffs from being paid monies owed to them. We do not believe we have any liability for the matters described in this litigation and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. In addition, we have an indemnification agreement with certain other defendants in the litigation pursuant to which the other defendants agreed to indemnify us for any damages we incur as a result of the environmental matters that are the subject of this litigation, although it is unclear whether the indemnitors have significant assets at this time. Since the loss is not probable and cannot be estimated, no reserve has been recorded. Other Litigation The company is involved in legal proceedings and claims which have arisen in the ordinary course of business. These actions, when ultimately concluded and settled, will not, in the opinion of management, have a material adverse effect upon the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the company. Purchase Commitments At July 29, 2012, and April 29, 2012, we had open purchase commitments to acquire equipment for our mattress fabrics segment totaling $766,000 and $1.2 million, respectively. Joint Product, Sales and Marketing Agreement In order to expand our product offerings and keep pace with the changing customer demand trends within the bedding industry, we entered into a joint product development, sales and marketing agreement with A. Lava & Son Co. (Lava) on May 21, 2012. This agreement forms a new business named Culp-Lava Applied Sewn Solutions (Culp-Lava) and will provide us the opportunity to enter the business of designing, producing, and marketing sewn mattress covers. As we enter the business of sewn mattress covers, we will be able to leverage our design capabilities and expand our product offerings from mattress fabrics to finished covers. In connection with this agreement, Lava will provide us with technical assistance and know-how for the start-up of the business and will work with us on the design, sales and marketing of sewn mattress covers. As part of the agreement, the new business will be fully funded and 100% owned by us. We have established a manufacturing facility located in Stokesdale, North Carolina that is adjacent to our mattress fabric headquarters, providing favorable operating synergies with management and production in the same location. As a result, we will have two mirrored manufacturing facilities to serve our customer base and meet current and expected demand trends in the bedding industry. We will have responsibility for all operating control of the new business, including capital expenditures and production and operating costs. We are projecting our capital investment to be approximately $1.0 million over the next four years. Lava is not required to invest capital into Culp-Lava. We are on schedule to commence production late in the second quarter of fiscal 2013 and plan to add up to 129 employees at full capacity.

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