| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES Litigation, Environmental Matters, and Indemnifications The Company and certain subsidiaries are involved in various lawsuits, claims and environmental actions that have arisen in the normal course of business with respect to product liability, patent infringement, governmental regulation, contract and commercial litigation, as well as possible obligations to investigate and mitigate the effects on the environment of the disposal or release of certain substances at various sites. In addition, in connection with divestitures and the related transactions, the Company from time to time has indemnified and has been indemnified by third parties against certain liabilities that may arise in connection with, among other things, business activities prior to the completion of the respective transactions. The term of these indemnifications, which typically pertain to environmental, tax and product liabilities, is generally indefinite. The Company records liabilities for ongoing and indemnification matters when the information available indicates that it is probable that a liability will be incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has recorded indemnification assets of $60 million within "Accounts and notes receivable - net" and $240 million within "Deferred charges and other assets" and indemnification liabilities of $166 million within "Accrued and other current liabilities" and $190 million within "Other noncurrent obligations" within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s accruals discussed below for indemnification liabilities related to the binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between Chemours, Corteva, EID and the Company and to the DWDP Separation and Distribution Agreement and the Letter Agreement between the Company and Corteva (together the “Agreements”), are included in the balances above. PFAS Stray Liabilities: Future Eligible PFAS Costs On July 1, 2015, EID, a Corteva subsidiary since June 1, 2019, completed the separation of EID’s Performance Chemicals segment through the spin-off of Chemours to holders of EID common stock (the “Chemours Separation”). On January 22, 2021, the Company, Corteva, EID and Chemours entered into the MOU pursuant to which the parties have agreed to release certain claims that had been raised by Chemours including any claims arising out of or resulting from the process and manner in which EID structured or conducted the Chemours Separation, and any other claims that challenge the Chemours Separation or the assumption of Chemours Liabilities (as defined in the Chemours Separation Agreement) by Chemours and the allocation thereof, subject in each case to certain exceptions set forth in the MOU. In connection with the MOU, the confidential arbitration process regarding certain claims by Chemours was terminated in February 2021. The parties have further agreed not to bring any future, additional claims regarding the Chemours Separation Agreement or the MOU outside of arbitration. Pursuant to the MOU, the parties have agreed to share certain costs associated with potential future liabilities related to alleged historical releases of certain PFAS (per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, which include perfluorooctanoic acids and its ammonium salts (“PFOA”)) out of pre-July 1, 2015 conduct (“eligible PFAS costs”) until the earlier to occur of (i) December 31, 2040, (ii) the day on which the aggregate amount of Qualified Spend, as defined in the MOU, is equal to $4 billion or (iii) a termination in accordance with the terms of the MOU. The parties have agreed that, during the term of this sharing arrangement, Qualified Spend will be borne 50 percent by Chemours and 50 percent, up to a cap of $2 billion, by the Company and Corteva. The Company and Corteva will split their 50 percent of Qualified Spend in accordance with the Agreements. After the term of this arrangement, Chemours’ indemnification obligations under the Chemours Separation Agreement would continue unchanged, subject in each case to certain exceptions set forth in the MOU. In order to support and manage any potential future eligible PFAS costs, the parties have also agreed to establish an escrow account. The MOU provides that (1) no later than each of September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022, Chemours shall deposit $100 million into an escrow account and DuPont and Corteva shall together deposit $100 million in the aggregate into an escrow account and (2) no later than September 30 of each subsequent year through and including 2028, Chemours shall deposit $50 million into an escrow account and DuPont and Corteva shall together deposit $50 million in the aggregate into an escrow account. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the MOU, each party may be permitted to defer funding in any year (excluding 2021). Additionally, if on December 31, 2028, the balance of the escrow account (including interest) is less than $700 million, Chemours will make 50 percent of the deposits and DuPont and Corteva together will make 50 percent of the deposits necessary to restore the balance of the escrow account to $700 million. Such payments will be made in a series of consecutive annual equal installments commencing on September 30, 2029 pursuant to the escrow account replenishment terms as set forth in the MOU. The parties have agreed to cooperate in good faith to enter into additional agreements reflecting the terms set forth in the MOU. Under the Agreements, Divested Operations and Businesses ("DDOB") liabilities of EID not allocated to or retained by Corteva or the Company are categorized as relating to either (i) PFAS Stray Liabilities, if they arise out of actions related to or resulting from the development, testing, manufacture or sale of PFAS; or (ii) Non-PFAS Stray Liabilities, (and together with PFAS Stray Liabilities, the “EID Stray Liabilities”). The Agreements provide that the Company and Corteva will each bear specified amounts plus an additional $200 million of Indemnifiable Losses, described below, in relation to certain EID Stray Liabilities. The Agreements further provide that the Company and Corteva will each bear 50 percent, $150 million each, of the first $300 million of total Indemnifiable Losses related to PFAS Stray Liabilities. When the companies meet their respective $150 million threshold, Indemnifiable Losses related to PFAS Stray Liabilities will be borne 71 percent by DuPont and 29 percent by Corteva. Indemnifiable Losses up to $150 million incurred for PFAS Stray Liabilities are credited against each company’s $200 million threshold. Whenever Corteva or DuPont meets its $200 million threshold, the other would generally bear all Non-PFAS Stray Liabilities until meeting its $200 million threshold. Thereafter, DuPont will bear 71 percent and Corteva will bear 29 percent of Indemnifiable Losses related to Non-PFAS Stray Liabilities. Indemnifiable Losses, as defined in the DWDP Separation and Distribution Agreement, include, among other things, attorneys’, accountants’, consultants’ and other professionals’ fees and expenses incurred in the investigation or defense of EID Stray Liabilities. In connection with the MOU and the Agreements, the Company has recognized the following indemnification liabilities related to eligible PFAS costs: Indemnified Liabilities Related to the MOU In millions Jun 30, 2021 Dec 31, 2020 Balance Sheet Classification Current indemnified liabilities $ 36 $ 12 Accrued and other current liabilities Long-term indemnified liabilities $ 95 $ 46 Other noncurrent obligations Total indemnified liabilities accrued under the MOU 1, 2 $ 131 $ 58 1. As of June 30, 2021, total indemnified liabilities accrued include $108 million related to Chemours environmental remediation activities at their site in Fayetteville, North Carolina under the Consent Order between Chemours and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. 2. Excludes liabilities of $27 million recognized by the Company as of December 31, 2020 related to the settlement of the Ohio MDL, discussed below. In addition to the above, as of June 30, 2021, the Company has recognized a liability of $12.5 million related to the settlement agreement between Chemours, Corteva and DuPont and Delaware's Attorney General, discussed below. Future charges, if any, associated with the MOU would be recognized over the term of the agreement as a component of income from discontinued operations to the extent liabilities become probable and estimable. In 2004, EID settled a West Virginia state court class action, Leach v. DuPont, which alleged that PFOA from EID’s former Washington Works facility had contaminated area drinking water supplies and affected the health of area residents. Members of the Leach class have standing to pursue personal injury claims for just six health conditions that an expert panel appointed under the Leach settlement reported in 2012 had a “probable link” (as defined in the settlement) with PFOA: pregnancy-induced hypertension, including preeclampsia; kidney cancer; testicular cancer; thyroid disease; ulcerative colitis; and diagnosed high cholesterol. In 2017, Chemours and EID each paid $335 million to settle the multi-district litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (“Ohio MDL”), thereby resolving claims of about 3,550 plaintiffs alleging injury from exposure to PFOA in drinking water. The 2017 settlement did not resolve claims of Leach class members who did not have claims in the Ohio MDL or whose claims are based on diseases first diagnosed after February 11, 2017. Since the 2017 settlement about 100 additional cases alleging personal injury, including kidney and testicular cancer claims, had been filed or noticed and were pending in the Ohio MDL. On January 21, 2021, EID and Chemours entered into settlement agreements with plaintiffs’ counsel representing the Ohio MDL plaintiffs providing for a settlement of cases and claims in the Ohio MDL, except as noted below (the “Settlement”). The total settlement amount is $83 million in cash with each of the Company and EID contributing $27 million and Chemours contributing $29 million. At June 30, 2021 the Company had paid in full its $27 million contribution. The Settlement was entered into solely by way of compromise and settlement and is not in any way an admission of liability or fault by the Company, Corteva, EID or Chemours. In connection with the Settlement, in April 2021 the plaintiffs filed a motion to terminate the Ohio MDL. The case captioned “Abbott v E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company” is not included in the Settlement and is presently pending appeal. In the Abbott case, the jury returned a verdict in March 2020 against EID, awarding $50 million in compensatory damages to the plaintiff and his wife, who claimed that exposure to PFOA in drinking water caused him to develop testicular cancer. In March 2021, the trial judge entered an order denying EID’s post-trial motions for a reduction in the verdict amount for Mr. Abbott but reduced Mrs. Abbott’s verdict for loss of consortium from $10 million to $250,000, reducing the total verdict to $40.25 million. EID has appealed the verdict. The plaintiffs also sought but were not awarded punitive damages. In addition to the actions described above, there are several cases alleging damages to natural resources, the environment, water, and/or property as well as various other allegations. DuPont and Corteva are named in most of the actions discussed below. Such actions include additional claims based on allegations that the transfer by EID of certain PFAS liabilities to Chemours prior to the Chemours Separation resulted in a fraudulent conveyance or voidable transaction. With the exception of the fraudulent conveyance claims, which are excluded from the MOU, legal fees, expenses, costs, and any potential liabilities for eligible PFAS costs presented by the following matters will be shared as defined in the MOU between Chemours, EID, Corteva and DuPont. Since May 2017, a number of state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against DuPont, Corteva, EID, Chemours, and others, claiming environmental contamination by certain PFAS compounds. Such actions are currently pending in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Vermont. In the second quarter 2021, the Michigan action was transferred to the SC MDL, discussed below. Generally, the states raise common law tort claims and seek economic impact damages for alleged harm to natural resources, punitive damages, present and future costs to cleanup contamination from certain PFAS compounds, and to abate the alleged nuisance. Most of these actions include fraudulent transfer claims related to the Chemours Separation and the DowDuPont separations. In July 2021, Chemours, Corteva (for itself and EID) and DuPont reached a resolution with the State of Delaware that avoids litigation and addresses potential Natural Resources Damages (“NRD”) from known historical and current releases by the companies in or affecting Delaware. The resolution releases potential state NRD claims arising from the environmental impacts of various chemicals, including PFAS, across all current and historical locations. Consistent with the MOU, Chemours will bear 50 percent or $25 million of the $50 million settlement and Corteva and DuPont will each bear $12.5 million. The settlement also calls for a potential Supplemental Payment to Delaware up to a total of $25 million funded 50 percent by Chemours and 50 percent by Corteva and DuPont, jointly, under certain circumstances which are not deemed probable. Several additional lawsuits have been filed by residents, local water districts, and private water companies against EID, Chemours, Corteva, DuPont and others in New York, New Jersey, and California generally alleging contamination of water systems due to the release of PFAS compounds. These suits seek compensatory and punitive damages, as well as present and future costs to clean up the alleged contamination. This includes a putative class action filed in the Northern District of New York on behalf of all individuals who, as of December 1, 2015, are or were owners of real property located in the Village of Hoosick Falls, New York and who obtain their drinking water from a privately owned well which has allegedly been contaminated by PFAS. The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as medical monitoring. The certification of the class is currently pending before the court. Additionally, there are several actions that have been filed in New Jersey against EID and Chemours on behalf of residents who allege personal injuries due to exposure to PFAS in their drinking water. These lawsuits generally seek compensatory and punitive damages stemming from those alleged injuries and medical monitoring. In April 2021, Chemours, Corteva and DuPont and certain of their respective Dutch entities, received a civil summons filed before the Court of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on behalf of four municipalities neighboring the Chemours Dordrecht facility. The municipalities are seeking liability declarations relating to the Dordrecht site’s current and historical PFAS operations and emissions. The companies’ response brief in defense of the municipalities’ claims is due in September 2021. Beginning in April 2019, several dozen lawsuits involving water contamination arising from the use of PFAS-containing aqueous firefighting foams (“AFFF”) were filed against EID, Chemours, 3M and other AFFF manufacturers and in different parts of the country. Most were consolidated in multi-district litigation docket in federal district court in South Carolina (the “SC MDL”). Many of those cases also name DuPont as a defendant. Those actions largely seek remediation of the alleged PFAS contamination in and around military bases and airports as well as medical monitoring of affected residents. The first ten bellwether cases have been selected by the court, all of which are water district contamination cases. As of June 30, 2021, approximately 1,160 personal injury cases have been filed directly in the SC MDL and assert claims on behalf of individual firefighters and others who allege that exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam caused them to develop cancer, including kidney and testicular cancer, or other injuries. DuPont has been named as a defendant in most of these personal injury AFFF cases. DuPont is seeking the dismissal of DowDuPont and DuPont from these actions. EID and the Company have never made or sold AFFF, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS") or PFOS containing products. Additionally, a case filed by a former firefighter is pending in the Southern District of Ohio seeking certification of a nationwide class of individuals who have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood serum. The suit was filed against 3M and several other defendants in addition to Chemours and EID. The complaint specifically seeks, among other things, the creation of a “PFAS Science Panel” to study the effects of PFAS, but expressly states that the class does not seek compensatory damages for personal injuries. In February 2020, the court denied the defendants' motion to transfer this case to the SC MDL. The decision of whether to certify the class is currently pending before the court. There are several actions pending in federal court against EID and Chemours, relating to discharges of PFCs, including GenX, into the Cape Fear River. GenX is a polymerization processing aid and a replacement for PFOA introduced by EID which Chemours continues to manufacture at its Fayetteville Works facility in Bladen County, North Carolina. One of these actions is a consolidated putative class action that asserts claims for damages and other relief on behalf of putative classes of property owners and residents in areas near or who draw drinking water from the Cape Fear River. Another action is a consolidated action brought by various North Carolina water authorities, including the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and Brunswick County, that seek actual and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief. In addition, an action is pending in North Carolina state court on behalf of about 200 plaintiffs who own wells and property near the Fayetteville Works facility. The plaintiffs seek damages for nuisance allegedly caused by releases of certain PFCs from the site. Additionally, there are lawsuits filed in North Carolina state court against Chemours, EID, Corteva and DuPont seeking damages for alleged personal injuries to more than 100 individuals due to alleged exposure to PFOA and GenX originating from the Fayetteville Works plant. These lawsuits also include fraudulent transfer allegations related to the Chemours Separation. While Management believes it has appropriately estimated the liability associated with eligible PFAS matters and Indemnifiable Losses as of the date of this report, it is reasonably possible that the Company could incur additional eligible PFAS costs and Indemnifiable Losses in excess of the amounts accrued. These additional costs could have a significant effect on the Company’s financial condition and/or cash flows in the period in which they occur; however, costs qualifying as Qualified Spend are limited by the terms of the MOU. Other Litigation Matters In addition to the matters described above, the Company is party to claims and lawsuits arising out of the normal course of business with respect to product liability, patent infringement, governmental regulation, contract and commercial litigation, and other actions. Certain of these actions may purport to be class actions and seek damages in very large amounts. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has liabilities of $18 million associated with these other litigation matters. It is the opinion of the Company’s management that the possibility is remote that the aggregate of all such other claims and lawsuits will have a material adverse impact on the results of operations, financial condition and cash flows of the Company. In accordance with its accounting policy for litigation matters, the Company will expense litigation defense costs as incurred, which could be significant to the Company’s financial condition and/or cash flows in the period. Environmental Matters Accruals for environmental matters are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated based on current law and existing technologies. At June 30, 2021, the Company had accrued obligations of $203 million for probable environmental remediation and restoration costs. These obligations are included in "Accrued and other current liabilities" and "Other noncurrent obligations" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. It is reasonably possible that environmental remediation and restoration costs in excess of amounts accrued could have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Inherent uncertainties exist in these estimates primarily due to unknown conditions, changing governmental regulations and legal standards regarding liability, and emerging remediation technologies for handling site remediation and restoration. The accrued environmental obligations includes the following: Environmental Accrued Obligations In millions Jun 30, 2021 Dec 31, 2020 Potential exposure above the amount accrued 1 Environmental remediation liabilities not subject to indemnity $ 39 $ 36 $ 94 Environmental remediation indemnified liabilities Indemnifications related to Dow and Corteva 2 45 44 63 MOU related obligations (discussed above) 3 119 56 55 Total environmental related liabilities $ 203 $ 136 $ 212 1. The environmental accrual as of June 30, 2021 represents management’s best estimate of the costs for remediation and restoration with respect to environmental matters, although it is reasonably possible that the ultimate cost with respect to these particular matters could range above the amount accrued. 2. Pursuant to the DWDP Separation and Distribution Agreement, the Company is required to indemnify Dow and Corteva for certain Non-PFAS clean-up responsibilities and associated remediation costs. 3. The MOU related obligations are included in the Indemnified Liabilities Related to the MOU presented above. Guarantees Obligations for Equity Affiliates & Others The Company has directly guaranteed various debt obligations under agreements with third parties related to equity affiliates and customers. At June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had directly guaranteed $175 million and $189 million, respectively, of such obligations. These amounts represent the maximum potential amount of future (undiscounted) payments that the Company could be required to make under the guarantees. The Company would be required to perform on these guarantees in the event of default by the guaranteed party. The Company assesses the payment/performance risk by assigning default rates based on the duration of the guarantees. These default rates are assigned based on the external credit rating of the counterparty or through internal credit analysis and historical default history for counterparties that do not have published credit ratings. For counterparties without an external rating or available credit history, a cumulative average default rate is used. In certain cases, the Company has recourse to assets held as collateral, as well as personal guarantees from customers. At June 30, 2021, no collateral was held by the Company. The following table provides a summary of the final expiration year and maximum future payments for each type of guarantee: Guarantees at June 30, 2021 Final Expiration Year Maximum Future Payments In millions Obligations for customers 1 : Bank borrowings 2021 $ 17 Obligations for non-consolidated affiliates 2 : Bank borrowings 2021 $ 158 Total guarantees $ 175 1. Existing guarantees for select customers, as part of contractual agreements. The terms of the guarantees are equivalent to the terms of the customer loans that are primarily made to finance customer invoices. At June 30, 2021, all maximum future payments had terms less than a year. 2. Existing guarantees for non-consolidated affiliates' liquidity needs in normal operations. |
