SEC Filings
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| 10-K | |||||
| HRG GROUP, INC. filed this Form 10-K on 11/23/2016 | |||||
| Entire Document | |||||
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Spectrum Brands may be exposed to significant product liability claims which its insurance may not cover and which could harm its reputation. In the ordinary course of its business, Spectrum Brands may be named as a defendant in lawsuits involving product liability claims. In any such proceeding, plaintiffs may seek to recover large and sometimes unspecified amounts of damages and the matters may remain unresolved for several years. Any such matters could have a material adverse effect on Spectrum Brands’ business, results of operations and financial condition if it is unable to successfully defend against or settle these matters or if its insurance coverage is insufficient to satisfy any judgments against it or settlements relating to these matters. Although Spectrum Brands has product liability insurance coverage and an excess umbrella policy, its insurance policies may not provide coverage for certain, or any, claims against Spectrum Brands or may not be sufficient to cover all possible liabilities. Additionally, Spectrum Brands does not maintain product recall insurance. Spectrum Brands may not be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms, if at all, in the future. Moreover, any adverse publicity arising from claims made against Spectrum Brands, even if the claims were not successful, could adversely affect the reputation and sales of its products. In particular, product recalls or product liability claims challenging the safety of Spectrum Brands’ products may result in a decline in sales for a particular product and could damage the reputation or the value of the related brand. This could be true even if the claims themselves are ultimately settled for immaterial amounts. This type of adverse publicity could occur and product liability claims could be made in the future. Spectrum Brands may incur material capital and other costs due to environmental liabilities. Spectrum Brands is subject to a broad range of federal, state, local, foreign and multi-national laws and regulations relating to the environment. These include laws and regulations that govern: •discharges to the air, water and land; •the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous substances and wastes; and
Risk of environmental liability is inherent in Spectrum Brands’ business. As a result, material environmental costs may arise in the future. In particular, Spectrum Brands may incur capital and other costs to comply with increasingly stringent environmental laws and enforcement policies, such as the EU Directives: Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and the Directive on Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries, discussed above. Spectrum Brands’ international operations may expose Spectrum Brands to risks related to compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign countries. See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Spectrum Brands’ Business- Spectrum Brands’ international operations may expose Spectrum Brands to risks related to compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign countries” in this report. Moreover, there are adopted and proposed international accords and treaties, as well as federal, state and local laws and regulations that would attempt to control or limit the causes of climate change, including the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. In the event that the U.S. government or foreign governments enact new climate change laws or regulations or make changes to existing laws or regulations, compliance with applicable laws or regulations may result in increased manufacturing costs for Spectrum Brands’ products, such as by requiring investment in new pollution control equipment or changing the ways in which certain of its products are made. Spectrum Brands may incur some of these costs directly and others may be passed on to it from its third-party suppliers. Although Spectrum Brands believes that it is substantially in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations at its facilities, Spectrum Brands may not always be in compliance with such laws and regulations or any new laws and regulations in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on Spectrum Brands’ business, financial condition and results of operations. From time to time, Spectrum Brands has been required to address the effect of historic activities on the environmental condition of its properties or former properties. Spectrum Brands has not conducted invasive testing at all of its facilities to identify all potential environmental liability risks. Given the age of its facilities and the nature of its operations, material liabilities may arise in the future in connection with its current or former facilities. If previously unknown contamination of property underlying or in the vicinity of its manufacturing facilities is discovered, Spectrum Brands could be required to incur material unforeseen expenses. If this occurs, it may have a material adverse effect on Spectrum Brands’ business, financial condition and results of operations. Spectrum Brands is currently engaged in investigative or remedial projects at a few of its facilities and any liabilities arising from such investigative or remedial projects at such facilities may have a material effect on Spectrum Brands’ business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, in connection with certain business acquisitions, Spectrum Brands has assumed, and in connection with future acquisitions may assume in the future, certain potential environmental liabilities. To the extent Spectrum Brands has not identified such environmental liabilities or to the extent the indemnifications obtained from Spectrum Brands’ counterparties are insufficient to cover such environmental liabilities, these environmental liabilities could have a material adverse effect on Spectrum Brands’ business. 50 | |||||
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