|
Quotes & Info
|
| WTS > SEC Filings for WTS > Form 8-K on 9-Nov-2009 | All Recent SEC Filings |
9-Nov-2009
Other Events
As disclosed in Part I, Item 1, "Business - Product Liability, Environmental and
Other Litigation Matters" of Watts Water Technologies, Inc.'s ("Watts") Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, Watts is a party to
litigation referred to as the "James Jones Litigation." As further disclosed in
its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 27, 2009, at a
mediation session held with the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County
on June 9-10, 2009, the parties to the Armenta case and the City of Banning case
(each part of the James Jones Litigation) agreed in principle to settle both
cases. The agreement in principle was effective and binding only upon approval
by the plaintiffs in the Armenta and Banning cases, and final approval of the
settlement by the California Superior Court after a fairness hearing. An
agreement in principle also was reached to settle the insurance coverage cases -
- Watts Industries, Inc. vs. Zurich American Insurance Company, et al., and
Zurich American Insurance Company vs. Watts Industries, Inc., et al., pending in
the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles; and Zurich
American Insurance Company vs. Watts Industries, Inc. and James Jones Company,
pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois, Eastern Division. The settlement of the insurance coverage cases was
effective and binding upon approval of the settlement of the underlying Armenta
and Banning cases as described above.
At the fairness hearing held on November 5, 2009, the Court approved the settlement of the "James Jones Litigation." No plaintiff objected. Based on the contemporaneous final settlement of the underlying insurance coverage cases, Watts' contribution to the James Jones Litigation settlement is $15.3 million. As a result of the settlements, all lawsuits and all claims asserted therein will be dismissed.
In addition, separate from the settlement, Watts will pay its outside counsel an additional $5 million for services rendered in connection with the above described litigation.
As a result of the settlement of the above described litigation, Watts expects to record a non-cash, pre-tax gain in discontinued operations of approximately $9.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 to reduce previously recorded estimates of the loss and related fees to the amounts noted above.
|
|