Commitments and Contingencies |
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Sep. 30, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Commitments
From time to time, the Company may enter into agreements with suppliers that contain minimum purchase obligations and agreements to purchase capital equipment. The Company did not have any unconditional purchase obligations as of September 30, 2024.
Letters of Credit
The Company has various letters of credit that were issued under the Company’s revolving credit agreement which is collateralized by substantially all of the assets of the Company. The letters of credit are categorized below (in thousands):
Insurance
The Company has insurance coverage for physical partial loss to its assets, employer’s liability, automobile liability, commercial general liability, workers’ compensation and insurance for other specific risks. The Company has also elected in some cases to accept a greater amount of risk through increased deductibles on certain insurance policies. At each of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the workers’ compensation and automobile liability policies require a deductible per occurrence of up to $0.3 million and $0.1 million, respectively. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the workers’ compensation and auto liability policies contained an aggregate stop loss of $5.4 million. The Company establishes liabilities for the unpaid deductible portion of claims incurred based on estimates. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, accrued claims were $1.4 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
The Company also has insurance coverage for directors and officers liability. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the directors and officers liability policy had a deductible per occurrence of $1.0 million and an aggregate deductible of $10.0 million. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company did not have any accrued claims for directors and officers liability.
The Company also self-insures its employee health insurance. The Company has coverage on its self-insurance program in the form of a stop loss of $0.2 million per participant and an aggregate stop-loss of $5.8 million for the calendar year ending December 31, 2022. At September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, accrued claims were $2.2 million and $1.8 million, respectively. These estimates may change in the near term as actual claims continue to develop.
Warranty Guarantees
Pursuant to certain customer contracts in our infrastructure services segment, the Company warrants equipment and labor performed under the contracts for a specified period following substantial completion of the work. Generally, the warranty is for one year or less. No liabilities were accrued as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 and no expense was recognized during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 or 2023 related to warranty claims. However, if warranty
claims occur, the Company could be required to repair or replace warrantied items, which in most cases are covered by warranties extended from the manufacturer of the equipment. In the event the manufacturer of equipment failed to perform on a warranty obligation or denied a warranty claim made by the Company, the Company could be required to pay for the cost of the repair or replacement.
Bonds
In the ordinary course of business, the Company is required to provide bid bonds to certain customers in the infrastructure services segment as part of the bidding process. These bonds provide a guarantee to the customer that the Company, if awarded the project, will perform under the terms of the contract. Bid bonds are typically provided for a percentage of the total contract value. Additionally, the Company may be required to provide performance and payment bonds for contractual commitments related to projects in process. These bonds provide a guarantee to the customer that the Company will perform under the terms of a contract and that the Company will pay subcontractors and vendors. If the Company fails to perform under a contract or to pay subcontractors and vendors, the customer may demand that the surety make payments or provide services under the bond. The Company must reimburse the surety for expenses or outlays it incurs. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, outstanding performance and payment bonds totaled $12.5 million and $10.0 million, respectively. The estimated cost to complete projects secured by the performance and payment bonds totaled $5.3 million as of September 30, 2024. There were $0.1 million in outstanding bid bonds as of September 30, 2024 and $0.2 million in outstanding bid bonds as of December 31, 2023.
Litigation
Cobra and PREPA previously entered into two agreements to aid in the restoration and reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s
power grid in response to damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. PREPA is currently subject to bankruptcy
proceedings, which were filed in July 2017 and are currently pending in the Title III Court. As a result, PREPA’s ability to meet its payment obligations under the above-referenced agreements was largely dependent upon funding from FEMA or other sources. Since September 30, 2019, Cobra has been pursuing litigation in the Title III Court and other dispute
resolution efforts seeking recovery of the amounts owed to Cobra by PREPA for restoration services in Puerto Rico,
which proceedings are discussed in more detail in the Company’s prior reports filed with the SEC. PREPA was holding approximately $18.4 million in Withheld FEMA Funds received from FEMA and considered payable to Cobra but for purported garnishments in this amount asserted by three Puerto Rican municipalities for certain municipal tax claims discussed below and for which Cobra disputes any valid garnishment.
On July 22, 2024, Cobra entered into a release and settlement agreement with PREPA and the FOMB, in its capacity as Title III representative for PREPA, to settle all outstanding matters between Cobra and PREPA.
Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Cobra was allowed an administrative expense claim against PREPA of $170.0 million, plus the $18.4 million in the Withheld FEMA Funds. Cobra’s allowed claim is payable through three installments: (i) $150.0 million on the later of (A) business days following approval of the Settlement Agreement by
the Title III Court and (B) August 31, 2024; (ii) $20.0 million within seven days following the effective date of PREPA’s
plan of adjustment; and (iii) $18.4 million in the Withheld FEMA Funds within either (A) business days after the
deadline for appealing the entry of the settlement order by the Title III Court under the applicable bankruptcy rules of
procedure if no such appeal is filed, or (B) if the provisions of the settlement order allowing PREPA to release the
Withheld FEMA Funds to Cobra without retaining any liability to the Specified Municipalities are appealed by the
Specified Municipalities, within ten business days of the filing of the notice of such appeal. In exchange for the settlement
payments and conditioned upon the effectiveness and full implementation of the Settlement Agreement, Cobra has agreed
to release and waive any further claim against PREPA under its two agreements with PREPA. Further, if PREPA pays the
Withheld FEMA Funds to Cobra following the notice of appeal described above, Cobra agreed to indemnify and hold
PREPA harmless, as well as to provide PREPA with one or more indemnity letters of credit, solely for any payment(s) PREPA is subsequently required to make pursuant to the Specified Municipalities on account of the Specified Municipal Tax Claims if such order is entered as a result of (i) any reversal on appeal of the settlement order with respect to the FEMA Withheld Funds and/or (ii) the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance or other court of competent jurisdiction enters such order after a diligent challenge by PREPA (including through enforcement of the order approving Settlement Agreement if in effect). Any such indemnity obligation will in no event exceed the amount of the Withheld FEMA Funds paid to and received by Cobra.
The Settlement Agreement was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors on July 22, 2024, and was also approved
by the PREPA Board and by the FOMB. On September 18, 2024, the Settlement Agreement was approved by the Title III Court overruling all objections thereto and an order was entered the same day (the “Settlement Order”). On October 1, 2024, Cobra received the first installment payment of $150.0 million from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in
connection with the Settlement Agreement with PREPA. Also on October 1, 2024, certain Puerto Rico municipalities and Foreman Electric Services Inc. that had objected to approval of the Settlement Order each filed timely notices of appeal of the Settlement Order to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. None of the foregoing parties have sought a stay of the Settlement Order pending such appeals. Although the ultimate outcome of these appeals cannot be predicted with certainty, Cobra believes that the appeals are without merit.
On October 18, 2024, Cobra received a payment from PREPA totaling $18.4 million under the terms of the Settlement Agreement. In connection with the receipt of the $18.4 million from PREPA, Cobra instructed Fifth Third Bank to issue a letter of credit to PREPA under the Reimbursement Agreement in the amount of $18.4 million and transferred a total of $19.3 million to a restricted cash account maintained by Fifth Third Bank as collateral for the letter of credit.
As a result of the Settlement Agreement, the Company recorded a non-cash, pre-tax charge of approximately $170.7 million in the second quarter of 2024 to reduce its accounts receivable balance from PREPA of $359.1 million,
representing the amount owed to Cobra by PREPA in relation to these agreements as of June 30, 2024, including the
accrued but unpaid interest, prior to the Settlement Agreement, to the amount expected to be received from the Settlement Agreement. Of the $170.7 million, $89.2 million was charged to credit loss expense, which is included in “selling, general and administrative” on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income, and $81.5 million was charged to interest on delinquent accounts receivable, which is included in “other (expense) income, net” on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income.
On May 13, 2021, Foreman Electric Services, Inc. (“Foreman”) filed a petition against Mammoth Inc. and Cobra in the Oklahoma County District Court (Oklahoma State Court). The petition asserted claims against the Company and Cobra under federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) statutes and certain state-law causes of action. Foreman alleged that it sustained injuries to its business and property in the amount of $250 million due to the Company’s and Cobra’s alleged wrongful interference by means of inducements to a FEMA official. On May 18, 2021, the Company removed this action to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and filed a motion to dismiss on July 8, 2021. On July 29, 2021, Foreman voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice. On December 14, 2021, Foreman re-filed its petition against Mammoth Inc. and Cobra in the Oklahoma County District Court (Oklahoma State Court). On December 16, 2021, the Company again removed this action to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Foreman filed a motion to remand this action back to Oklahoma County District Court, which was granted on May 5, 2022. On September 28, 2023, the Company moved to dismiss the petition. On November 16, 2023, rather than respond to the motion, Foreman filed an Amended Petition naming Arty Straehla, Mark Layton and Wexford as additional defendants, added claims for fraudulent transfer arising out of the refinancing of certain debt and sought receivership over Mammoth and Cobra related to allegedly fraudulently transferred assets. The defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Petition, which was denied on March 12, 2024. On February 8, 2024, Foreman filed a Motion for Appointment of Receiver. On April 29, 2024, the Court denied that motion. Additionally, on February 6, 2023, Foreman moved to amend a complaint against the former president of Cobra filed in Florida State Court arising from facts similar to those in the pending Oklahoma action to add, as defendants, Arty Straehla and Mark Layton. On September 15, 2023, Straehla and Layton moved to dismiss the complaint. On January 18, 2024, Foreman voluntarily dismissed the Florida State Court action against Straehla and Layton. In a related matter, on January 12, 2022, a Derivative Complaint on behalf of nominal defendant Machine Learning Integration, LLC (“MLI”), which alleges it would have served as a sub-contractor to Foreman in Puerto Rico, was filed against the Company and Cobra in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico alleging essentially the same facts as Foreman’s action and asserting violations of federal RICO statutes and certain non-federal claims. MLI alleges it sustained injuries to its business and property in an unspecified amount because the Company’s and Cobra’s wrongful interference by means of inducements to a FEMA official prevented Foreman from obtaining work, and thereby prevented MLI, as Foreman’s subcontractor, from obtaining work. The Company is not able to predict the outcome of these claims or whether they will have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The Company is routinely involved in state and local tax audits. During 2015, the State of Ohio assessed taxes on the purchase of equipment the Company believes is exempt under state law. The Company appealed the assessment and a hearing was held in 2017. As a result of the hearing, the Company received a decision from the State of Ohio, which the Company appealed. On February 25, 2022, the Company received an unfavorable decision on the appeal. The Company appealed the decision. On August 2, 2023, the Ohio Supreme court affirmed the ruling in part and reversed the ruling in part. The Company is currently awaiting the final assessment. It is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Cobra has been served with 13 lawsuits from municipalities in Puerto Rico alleging failure to pay construction excise and volume of business taxes. On November 14, 2022, the Court entered judgment against Cobra in connection with one of the lawsuits ordering payment of approximately $9.0 million. On January 9, 2023, Cobra appealed the judgment and, on March 20, 2023, the Court confirmed the imposition of approximately $8.5 million related to construction excise taxes. On April 10, 2023, Cobra appealed this judgment, which was denied on May 5, 2023. Cobra filed a motion for reconsideration on May 15, 2023, which was denied. Cobra filed a second motion for reconsideration on June 22, 2023 and is currently awaiting a decision. On December 18, 2023, the Humacao Superior Court issued an order to PREPA to withhold payment of approximately $9.0 million to Cobra. On January 17, 2024, Cobra filed a Writ of Certiorari requesting the Court of Appeals to reverse the order from the Humacao Superior Court. On February 15, 2024, Cobra’s request was granted by the Court of Appeals and the order instructing PREPA to withhold the $9.0 million payment from Cobra was revoked. The case was remanded to the lower Court for continuation of the proceedings in accordance with the Court of Appeals’ order. Cobra believes it is exempt from the construction excise taxes. In connection with the Settlement Agreement entered into with PREPA, PREPA (including through the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, as fiscal agent for PREPA, and the FOMB) has agreed to cooperate with Cobra and assist in resolving the construction excise and volume of business taxes assessed against Cobra. There is no guarantee, however, that the Company, including with PREPA’s cooperation, will be successful in favorably resolving or mitigating these taxes. Accordingly, at this time, the Company is not able to predict the outcome of these matters or whether they will have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
On April 16, 2019, Christopher Williams, a former employee of Higher Power Electrical, LLC, filed a putative class and collective action complaint titled Christopher Williams, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Higher Power Electrical, LLC, Cobra Acquisitions LLC, and Cobra Energy LLC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. On June 24, 2019, the complaint was amended to replace Mr. Williams with Matthew Zeisset as the named plaintiff. The plaintiff alleges the defendant failed to pay overtime wages to a class of workers in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and Puerto Rico law. On August 21, 2019, upon request of the parties, the Court stayed proceedings in the lawsuit and administratively closed the case pending completion of individual arbitration proceedings initiated by Mr. Zeisset and opt-in plaintiffs. Other claimants have subsequently initiated additional individual arbitration proceedings asserting similar claims. During 2023, the Company agreed to settlements in principle with a portion of the claimants. Arbitrations remain pending for the remaining claimants. The Company will continue to vigorously defend the arbitrations. During 2023 and 2024, the Company recognized an estimated liability related to these complaints, which is included in “accounts payable” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The amount required to resolve these matters may ultimately increase or decrease from the Company’s estimated amount as the matters progress.
On September 10, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico unsealed an indictment that charged the former president of Cobra Acquisitions LLC with conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements and disaster fraud. Two other individuals were also charged in the indictment. The indictment is focused on the interactions between a former FEMA official and the former president of Cobra. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries were charged in the indictment. On May 18, 2022, the former FEMA official and the former president of Cobra each pled guilty to one-count information charging gratuities related to a project that Cobra never bid upon and was never awarded or received any monies for. On December 13, 2022, the Court sentenced the former Cobra president to custody of the Bureau of Prisons for six months and one day, a term of supervised release of six months and one day and a fine of $25,000. The Court sentenced the FEMA official to custody of the Bureau of Prisons for six months and one day, a term of supervised release of six months and a fine of $15,000. The Court also dismissed the indictment against the two defendants. The Company does not expect any additional activity in the criminal proceeding. Subsequent to the indictment, Cobra received a civil investigative demand (“CID”) from the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which requests certain documents and answers to specific interrogatories relevant to an ongoing investigation it is conducting. The aforementioned DOJ investigation is in connection with the issues raised in the criminal matter. Cobra fully cooperated with the DOJ but is not able to predict the outcome of this investigation, or even if it still active, or if so, whether it will have a material impact on Cobra’s or the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. With regard to the SEC investigation disclosed in previous filings, on July 6, 2022, the SEC sent a letter saying that it had concluded its investigation as to the Company and that based on information the SEC has as of this date, it does not intend to recommend an enforcement action against the Company.
The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. Although the Company cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings, legal matters are subject to inherent uncertainties and there exists the possibility that the ultimate resolution of these matters could have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Assignment Agreement
On December 1, 2023, Cobra, as seller and Mammoth, as guarantor, entered into the Assignment Agreement with SPCP Group, as purchaser.
Under the terms and conditions of the Assignment Agreement, Cobra transferred to SPCP Group, at the purchase rate of 88.0% and free and clear of any liens and claims, all of its rights, title and interest in the first $63.0 million (the “Transferred Amount”) of the total outstanding accounts receivable that remained unpaid by PREPA as of October 6, 2023 (the “PREPA Claim”), received or to be received by Cobra on or after October 6, 2023. Between October 6, 2023 and December 1, 2023, Cobra received payments from PREPA with respect to the PREPA Claim totaling $8.6 million (the “Interim Payment Amount”), resulting in the net Transferred Amount of $54.4 million.
In connection with the entry into the Assignment Agreement, Mammoth and Cobra obtained the required consents from lenders under the Company’s revolving credit facility with Fifth Third Bank and the Company’s term loan and security agreement with Wexford. Further, under the term loan and security agreement with Wexford, Mammoth was required, among other things, to mandatorily remit to Wexford up to 50% of all amounts that constitute PREPA Claim proceeds, including the proceeds received by Cobra under the Assignment Agreement, to reduce outstanding borrowings under such term loan and security agreement. In connection with the Assignment Agreement, Wexford waived this requirement.
The net proceeds received by Cobra in connection with the Assignment Agreement were $46.1 million. The Company elected the fair value option for measuring the liability to simplify the accounting associated with the Assignment Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, the fair value of the liability was approximately $48.9 million, which is included in “accrued expenses and other current liabilities” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet and the aggregate unpaid principal balance related to this liability was $54.4 million. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized a financing charge totaling $2.8 million.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, PREPA paid $64.0 million with respect to the outstanding PREPA receivable. Of the $64.0 million, $54.4 million was paid to SPCP Group, as Cobra’s assignee under the Assignment Agreement, which fully extinguished Cobra’s and Mammoth’s obligations to SPCP Group under the Assignment Agreement, and the Assignment Agreement was terminated. The Company recognized a financing charge totaling $5.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024 related to the termination of the Assignment Agreement, which is included in “interest expense and financing charges, net” in the accompanying consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. The remaining $9.6 million was paid to Cobra. Wexford waived the requirement to mandatorily remit to Wexford up to 50% of all PREPA Claim proceeds in relation to the $9.6 million.
Defined Contribution Plan The Company sponsors a 401(k) defined contribution plan for the benefit of substantially all employees at their date of hire. The plan allows eligible employees to contribute up to 92% of their annual compensation, not to exceed annual limits established by the federal government. The Company makes discretionary matching contributions of up to 3% of an employee’s compensation and may make additional discretionary contributions for eligible employees. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company paid $0.5 million, $1.5 million, $0.4 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in contributions to the plan.
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