12. Contingencies OI Inc. is a defendant in numerous lawsuits alleging bodily injury and death as a result of exposure to asbestos dust. From 1948 to 1958, one of OI Inc. s former business units commercially produced and sold approximately $40 million of a high-temperature, calcium-silicate based pipe and block insulation material containing asbestos. OI Inc. exited the pipe and block insulation business in April 1958. The typical asbestos personal injury lawsuit alleges various theories of liability, including negligence, gross negligence and strict liability and seeks compensatory and in some cases, punitive damages in various amounts (herein referred to as  asbestos claims ). The following table shows the approximate number of plaintiffs and claimants who had asbestos claims pending against OI Inc. at the beginning of each listed year, the number of claims disposed of during that year, the year s filings and the claims pending at the end of each listed year (eliminating duplicate filings): 2012 2011 2010 Pending at beginning of year 4,600 5,900 6,900 Disposed 4,400 4,500 4,200 Filed 2,400 3,200 3,200 Pending at end of year 2,600 4,600 5,900 Based on an analysis of the lawsuits pending as of December 31, 2012, approximately 66% of plaintiffs either do not specify the monetary damages sought, or in the case of court filings, claim an amount sufficient to invoke the jurisdictional minimum of the trial court. Approximately 30% of plaintiffs specifically plead damages of $15 million or less, and 4% of plaintiffs specifically plead damages greater than $15 million but less than $100 million. Fewer than 1% of plaintiffs specifically plead damages equal to or greater than $100 million. As indicated by the foregoing summary, current pleading practice permits considerable variation in the assertion of monetary damages. OI Inc. s experience resolving hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims and lawsuits over an extended period demonstrates that the monetary relief that may be alleged in a complaint bears little relevance