Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Our subsidiaries and our holding company are subject, from time to time, to a variety of civil and administrative proceedings arising out of our normal operations, including, without limitation, product liability claims, health, safety, and environmental claims, and employment-related actions. Among such proceedings are cases alleging that plaintiffs have contracted, or have been placed at risk of contracting, beryllium sensitization or CBD or other lung conditions as a result of exposure to beryllium (beryllium cases). The plaintiffs in beryllium cases seek recovery under negligence and various other legal theories and demand compensatory and often punitive damages, in many cases of an unspecified sum. Spouses of some plaintiffs claim loss of consortium.
Beryllium Claims
As of December 31, 2022, our subsidiary, Materion Brush Inc., was a defendant in one beryllium case. In Richard Miller v. Dolphin, Inc. et al. , case number CV2020-005163, filed in the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, the Company is one of six named defendants in addition to 100 John/Jane Doe defendants. The plaintiff alleges that he contracted beryllium disease from exposures to beryllium-containing products supplied to his employer, Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, where he was a production worker, and asserts claims for negligence, strict liability – failure to warn, strict liability – design defect, and fraudulent concealment. The plaintiff seeks general damages, medical expenses, loss of earnings, consequential damages, and punitive damages, and his wife claims loss of consortium. A co-defendant, Dolphin, Inc., filed a cross-claim against the Company for indemnification. On August 12, 2020, the Company moved to dismiss the cross-claim for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The court denied the motion on October 23, 2020. On December 7, 2020, the Company filed a Petition for Special Action in the Court of Appeals seeking to appeal the motion to dismiss the cross-claim. The Court of Appeals declined to accept jurisdiction on December 30, 2020. The court entered a scheduling order on September 14, 2021 that did not set a date for trial. Amended scheduling orders were entered on April 8, 2022, August 4, 2022, and November 1, 2022, that likewise did not set a trial date. The Company believes that it has substantive defenses and intends to vigorously defend itself against this suit.
During 2022, one beryllium case was resolved.
No beryllium cases were filed in 2022.
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The Company has insurance coverage, which may respond, subject to an annual deductible.
Other Claims
On October 14, 2020, Garett Lucyk, et al. v. Materion Brush Inc., et. al. , case number 20CV0234, a wage and hour purported collective and class action lawsuit, was filed in the Northern District of Ohio against the Company and its subsidiary, Materion Brush Inc. (collectively, the Company). Plaintiff, a former hourly production employee at the Company's Elmore, Ohio facility, alleges that he and other similarly situated employees are not paid for all time they spend donning and doffing personal protective equipment in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Ohio law. Plaintiff filed a motion for conditional certification, which the Company opposed. On August 2, 2022, the Court conditionally certified a class of employees at the Company’s Elmore facility only and rejected certification of a class across the Company’s other facilities.
In November 2022, the parties reached a settlement for an immaterial amount. The settlement is pending court approval.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.104) is included in Exhibit 95 to this Form 10-K.
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PART II