COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
3 Months Ended |
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Mar. 31, 2024 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
NOTE 11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Proceedings
We are subject to numerous lawsuits and claims arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including actions related to product liability; personal injury; the use and performance of our products; warranty matters; product recalls; patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement; contractual liability; the conduct of our business; tax reporting in foreign jurisdictions; distributor termination; workplace safety; environmental and regulatory matters, including the enforcement of environmental and emissions standards; and asbestos claims. We also have been identified as a potentially responsible party at multiple waste disposal sites under U.S. federal and related state environmental statutes and regulations and may have joint and several liability for any investigation and remediation costs incurred with respect to such sites. We have denied liability with respect to many of these lawsuits, claims and proceedings and are vigorously defending such lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We carry various forms of commercial, property and casualty, product liability and other forms of insurance; however, such insurance may not be applicable or adequate to cover the costs associated with a judgment against us with respect to these lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We do not believe that these lawsuits are material individually or in the aggregate. While we believe we have also established adequate accruals for our expected future liability with respect to pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings, where the nature and extent of any such liability can be reasonably estimated based upon then presently available information, there can be no assurance that the final resolution of any existing or future lawsuits, claims or proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
We conduct significant business operations in Brazil that are subject to the Brazilian federal, state and local labor, social security, tax and customs laws. While we believe we comply with such laws, they are complex, subject to varying interpretations and we are often engaged in litigation regarding the application of these laws to particular circumstances.
In December 2023, we announced that we reached an agreement in principle with the EPA, CARB, the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Attorney General’s Office to resolve certain regulatory civil claims regarding our emissions certification and compliance process for certain engines primarily used in pick-up truck applications in the U.S., which became final and effective in April 2024 (collectively, the Settlement Agreements). As part of the Settlement Agreements, among other things, we agreed to pay civil penalties, complete recall requirements, undertake mitigation projects, provide extended warranties, undertake certain testing, take certain corporate compliance measures and make other payments. Failure to comply with the Settlement Agreements will subject us to stipulated penalties. We recorded a charge of $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to resolve the matters addressed by the Settlement Agreements involving approximately one million of our pick-up truck applications in the U.S. This charge was in addition to the previously announced charges of $59 million for the recalls of model years 2013 through 2018 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks and model years 2016 through 2019 Titan trucks. We began making payments on certain of the Settlement Agreements in April 2024; however, the majority of the Settlement Agreement payments will be made in May 2024.
We have also been in communication with other non-U.S. regulators regarding matters related to the emission systems in our engines and may also become subject to additional regulatory review in connection with these matters.
In connection with our announcement of our entry into the agreement in principle, we became subject to shareholder, consumer and third-party litigation regarding the matters covered by the Settlement Agreements, and we may become subject to additional litigation in connection with these matters.
The consequences resulting from the resolution of the foregoing matters are uncertain and the related expenses and reputational damage could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Guarantees and Commitments
Periodically, we enter into guarantee arrangements, including guarantees of non-U.S. distributor financings, residual value guarantees on equipment under operating leases and other miscellaneous guarantees of joint ventures or third-party obligations. At March 31, 2024, the maximum potential loss related to these guarantees was $39 million.
We have arrangements with certain suppliers that require us to purchase minimum volumes or be subject to monetary penalties. At March 31, 2024, if we were to stop purchasing from each of these suppliers, the aggregate amount of the penalty would be approximately $584 million. These arrangements enable us to secure supplies of critical components and IT services. We do not currently anticipate paying any penalties under these contracts.
We enter into physical forward contracts with suppliers of platinum, palladium and iridium to purchase certain volumes of the commodities at contractually stated prices for various periods, which generally fall within two years. At March 31, 2024, the total commitments under these contracts were $64 million. These arrangements enable us to guarantee the prices of these commodities, which otherwise are subject to market volatility.
We have guarantees with certain customers that require us to satisfactorily honor contractual or regulatory obligations, or compensate for monetary losses related to nonperformance. These performance bonds and other performance-related guarantees were $192 million at March 31, 2024.
Indemnifications
Periodically, we enter into various contractual arrangements where we agree to indemnify a third-party against certain types of losses. Common types of indemnities include:
•product liability and license, patent or trademark indemnifications;
•asset sale agreements where we agree to indemnify the purchaser against future environmental exposures related to the asset sold; and
•any contractual agreement where we agree to indemnify the counterparty for losses suffered as a result of a misrepresentation in the contract.
We regularly evaluate the probability of having to incur costs associated with these indemnities and accrue for expected losses that are probable. Because the indemnifications are not related to specified known liabilities and due to their uncertain nature, we are unable to estimate the maximum amount of the potential loss associated with these indemnifications.
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