Commitments and Contingencies | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Proceedings The Company is involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial, intellectual property, product liability, regulatory and environmental matters of a nature considered normal for its business. The Company accrues for amounts related to these matters if it is probable that a liability has been incurred, and an amount can be reasonably estimated. The Company discloses such matters when there is at least a reasonable possibility that a material loss may have been incurred. However, the Company cannot predict the outcome of any litigation or the potential for future litigation. AngioDynamics v. biolitec On January 2, 2008, we commenced an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York entitled AngioDynamics, Inc. v. biolitec, Inc. In this action, we sought judgment against biolitec for defense and indemnification in two lawsuits which we previously settled. Our claims arise out of a Supply and Distribution Agreement (“SDA”) entered into with biolitec on April 1, 2002. On September 27, 2011, the U.S. District Court granted key portions of our motion for summary judgment in our legal case against biolitec. The Court also dismissed biolitec’s counterclaims against us. The court denied one portion of our summary judgment motion, which sought to recover additional costs from biolitec, leaving this for adjudication at trial. On November 8, 2012, the Court granted partial judgment to us in the amount of $23.2 million . Biolitec appealed this judgment. On August 23, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed biolitec’s appeal. In October 2009, we commenced an action in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts entitled AngioDynamics, Inc. v. biolitec AG and Wolfgang Neuberger. The Complaint in this action was amended in March 2010. This action seeks to recover against biolitec, Inc.’s parent entities and CEO for tortiously interfering with biolitec, Inc.’s contractual obligation to defend and indemnify us, and also seeks to pierce the corporate veil of biolitec, Inc. and to invalidate certain alleged fraudulent transfers in order to hold biolitec, Inc.’s parent entities jointly and severally liable for the alleged breach of the SDA. On September 13, 2012, the Massachusetts Court granted our request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the downstream merger of biolitec AG with its Austrian subsidiary. On April 1, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the preliminary injunction. On January 14, 2014, the District Court entered judgment in our favor as to liability. On March 18, 2014, the District Court entered judgment in our favor against Biolitec AG, Biomed Technology Holdings, Ltd., and Wolfgang Neuberger, jointly and severally, in the amount of $74.9 million . On March 11, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the judgment. The defendants petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court denied the petition on November 30, 2015. The defendants have also filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit regarding civil contempt sanctions imposed by the Massachusetts District Court as a result of defendants’ completion of the downstream merger in violation of the Court’s injunction. On May 6, 2016, the First Circuit issued an opinion rejecting this latest appeal. On October 11, 2016, defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari from that decision. We opposed the petition, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the petition in January 2017. On February 18, 2016, the Massachusetts District Court issued an order compelling the Massachusetts defendants to provide post-judgment discovery intended to aid us in potentially collecting our judgment. On March 21, 2016, the Massachusetts defendants noticed an appeal from this order. On August 31, 2016, the First Circuit dismissed that appeal. On June 27, 2016, we filed a motion asking the Massachusetts District Court to impose sanctions on the Massachusetts defendants for their failure to comply with the post-judgment discovery order. On December 26, 2016, we filed a further motion seeking to compel defendants to provide additional post-judgment discovery. On November 13, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued summonses to four Biolitec entities - Biolitec U.S., Inc., Biolitec Holding U.S., Inc., Biolitec Medical Devices, Inc., and CeramOptec Industries, Inc. - pursuant to Massachusetts trustee process. We sought to use this process to attach the assets of these entities in order to satisfy our judgment. The trustee process was automatically stayed when the four Biolitec entities filed Chapter 7 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. However, on November 3, 2015, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court granted our request to modify the automatic stay to allow us to seek a default against the four Biolitec entities pursuant to trustee process. On January 21, 2016, the four Chapter 7 cases were transferred at our request to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. On August 29, 2013, we became co-plaintiffs in an adversary proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey entitled Cyganowski, Trustee, et al. v. Biolitec U.S., Inc., et al. In this action, we assert claims of conversion, unjust enrichment, tortious interference, and unfair competition against various biolitec entities for alleged violation of Bankruptcy Court settlement and sale orders under which we acquired certain assets of Biolitec, Inc. On September 3, 2013, we, along with our co-plaintiff, obtained a temporary restraining order against the defendants in this action. On January 22, 2015, the Bankruptcy Court entered a permanent injunction on our behalf for an additional two years. C.R. Bard, Inc. v. AngioDynamics, Inc. On January 11, 2012, C.R. Bard, Inc. (“Bard”) filed a suit in the United States District Court of Utah claiming certain of our implantable port products infringe on three U.S. patents held by Bard (the "Utah Action"). Bard is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The Court denied Bard’s motion for pre-trial consolidation with separate actions it filed on the same day against Medical Components, Inc. and Smiths Medical ASD, Inc., but had asked for supplemental briefing on the issue of whether to conduct a common Markman hearing. Meanwhile, we filed petitions for reexamination in the US Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") which seek to invalidate all three patents asserted by Bard in the litigation. Our petitions were granted and 40 of Bard's 41 patent claims were rejected and, following further proceedings, the Patent Office issued a Final Rejection of all 40 claims subject to reexamination. Thereafter, Bard filed appeals to the PTO Board of Appeals and Interferences for all three reexams. The parties completed briefing on the appeals and oral argument was held on June 18, 2015. The Patent Office has issued decisions in the three appeals. In one (issued on March 11, 2016 for US Patent No. 7,785,302), the rejections of six of the ten claims under reexamination were affirmed, but were reversed on four of the ten claims. In the second (issued on March 24, 2016 for U.S. Patent No. 7,959,615), the rejections of eight of the ten claims under reexamination were affirmed but the rejections of the other two of the ten claims were reversed. In the third (issued on March 29 for U.S. Patent No. 7,947.022) the rejections of all twenty claims under reexamination were affirmed. Bard has since filed Requests for Rehearing in all three reexamination appeals and the Company filed Requests for Rehearing in two of the reexamination appeals (the ‘302 and ‘615 patent reexaminations). Each party has filed comments in Opposition to the other party’s Rehearing Requests, and we are awaiting the PTO determinations in all three reexaminations. The Utah Action has been stayed pending final resolution of the PTO process. We believe these claims are without merit and intend to defend them vigorously. We have not recorded an expense related to the outcome of this litigation because it is not yet possible to determine if a potential loss is probable nor reasonably estimable. On March 10, 2015, C.R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (“Bard”) filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware claiming certain of our implantable port products infringe on three U.S. patents held by Bard (the “Delaware Action). Bard is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The patents asserted in the Delaware Action are different than those asserted in the Utah Action. On June 1, 2015, we filed two motions in response to Bard’s Complaint - one sought transfer to the District of Utah where the Utah Action is currently pending, and the other sought dismissal of the entire complaint on grounds that none of the claims in the asserted patents is directed to patent eligible subject matter under Section 101 of the Patent Statute and in light of recent authority from the U. S. Supreme Court. On January 12, 2016, the court issued a decision denying both motions. We have since served an Answer and Counterclaim to which Bard has served a Reply. On March 10, 2016, the Court held a case management conference, and, on March 14, 2016, the court entered a Scheduling Order which set, inter alia, a Markman hearing for March 10, 2017, a summary judgment hearing for December 8, 2017 and trial for March 12, 2018. The parties have since served various discovery requests on each other, and have been producing documents to each other; on May 27, 2016 Bard served its Infringement Contentions which identified all the port products accused of infringement; and, on June 24, 2016, we served Invalidity Contentions which detail various grounds for invalidating the three asserted patents. The parties are in the midst of exchanging briefs in advance of the March 10, 2017 Markman hearing. We believe these claims are without merit and intend to defend them vigorously. We have not recorded an expense related to the outcome of this litigation because it is not yet possible to determine if a potential loss is probable nor reasonably estimable. Governmental Investigations LC Beads In June 2014 we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) requesting documents in relation to a criminal and civil investigation the DOJ is conducting regarding BTG International, Inc.’s LC Bead® product beginning in 2003. RITA Medical Systems and AngioDynamics, Inc., after its acquisition of RITA, was the exclusive distributor of LC Beads in the United States from 2006 through December 31, 2011. We are cooperating fully with this investigation and at this time are unable to predict its scope, duration or outcome. We are unable at this time to reasonably estimate the amount or range of any loss, although it is possible that the amount of such loss could be material. In accordance with ASC 450, "Contingencies," or "ASC 450," no amount in respect of any potential liability in this matter, including for penalties, fines or other sanctions, has been accrued in the consolidated financial statements. EVLT In April 2015 we received a subpoena from the DOJ requesting documents in relation to a criminal and civil investigation the DOJ is conducting regarding purported promotion of certain of AngioDynamics’ VenaCure EVLT products for un-cleared indications. We are cooperating fully with this investigation and at this time are unable to predict its scope, duration or outcome. We are unable at this time to reasonably estimate the amount or range of any loss, although it is possible that the amount of such loss could be material. In accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies, no amount in respect of any potential liability in this matter, including for penalties, fines or other sanctions, has been accrued in the consolidated financial statements. |