We operate in a litigious environment, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may become involved in legal actions and claims arising in the ordinary course of business, including litigation regarding employment matters, breach of contract, and other commercial matters. Due to the inherent uncertainty in the litigation process, the resolution of any particular legal proceeding could result in changes to our products and business practices and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may be liable for damages based on product liability claims brought against our customers in ourend-markets or from our customers and their employees, and any successful claim for damages could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We produce and use hazardous chemicals, the handling and use of which require appropriate procedures and care. As a result of the hazardous nature of some of the products we produce and use, we may face claims relating to incidents that involve our customers’ improper handling, storage, and use of our products.
In addition, many of our products provide critical performance attributes to our customers’ products that are sold to consumers who could potentially bring product liability suits related to such products. Our sale of these products therefore involves the risk of product liability claims, including class action lawsuits that claim liability for death, injury, or property damage caused by products that we manufacture or that contain our components. If a person were to bring a product liability suit against one of our customers, this customer may attempt to seek contribution from us. A person may also bring a product liability claim directly against us. A successful product liability claim or series of claims against us in excess of our insurance coverage for payments, for which we are not otherwise indemnified, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. While we endeavor to protect ourselves from such claims and exposures in our contractual negotiations, we can provide no assurance that our efforts in this regard will ultimately protect us from any such claims.
We depend upon our information technology systems, which are subject to interruption and failure.
Our business operations could be disrupted if our information technology systems fail to perform adequately. The efficient operation of our business depends on our information technology systems, some of which are managed by third-party service providers. We rely on our information technology systems to effectively manage our business data, communications, supply chain, order entry and fulfillment, and other business processes. The failure of our information technology systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, and the loss of sales and customers, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks, and viruses. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Further, our information technology systems, including those managed by third-party service providers, may be subject to computer viruses, malicious software, attacks by hackers, and other forms of cyber intrusions or unauthorized access, any of which can create system disruptions, shutdowns, or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data. In addition, a security breach that leads to disclosure of information protected by privacy laws could compel us to comply with breach notification requirements under state, national, and federal laws and regulations, potentially resulting in litigation or regulatory action, or otherwise subjecting us to liability under laws that protect personal data.
We attempt to mitigate the above risks by employing several measures, including monitoring and testing of our security controls, employee training, maintenance of protective systems and contingency plans, and
48