NOTE 16 . COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Environmental Matters A majority of the properties we acquire, including land, are subjected to environmental reviews either by us or the previous owners. In addition, we may incur environmental remediation costs associated with certain land parcels we acquire in connection with the development of the land. We have acquired certain properties that may have been leased to or previously owned by companies that discharged hazardous materials. We establish a liability at the time of acquisition to cover such costs and adjust the liabilities as appropriate when additional information becomes available. We record our environmental liabilities in Other Liabilities . We purchase various environmental insurance policies to mitigate our exposure to environmental liabilities. We are not aware of any environmental liabilities that would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Indemnification Agreements We may enter into agreements whereby we indemnify certain co-investment ventures, or our venture partners, outside of the U.S. for taxes that may be assessed with respect to certain properties we contributed to these ventures. Our contributions to these ventures are generally structured as contributions of shares of companies that own the real estate assets. Accordingly, the capital gains associated with the step up in the value of the underlying real estate assets, for tax purposes, are deferred and transferred at contribution. We have generally indemnified these ventures to the extent that the ventures: (i) incur capital gains or withholding tax as a result of a direct sale of the real estate asset, as opposed to a transaction in which the shares of the company owning the real estate asset are transferred or sold or (ii) are required to grant a discount to the buyer of shares under a share transfer transaction as a result of the ventures transferring the embedded capital gain tax liability to the buyer of the shares in the transaction. The agreements limit the amount that is subject to our indemnification with respect to each property to 100% of the actual tax liabilities related to the capital gains that are deferred and transferred by us to the ventures at the time of the initial contribution less any deferred tax assets transferred with the property. The outcome under these agreements is uncertain as it depends on the method and timing of dissolution of the related venture or disposition of any properties by the venture. We record liabilities related to the indemnification agreements in Other Liabilities . We continue to monitor these agreements and the likelihood of the sale of assets that would result in recognition and will adjust the potential liability in the future as facts and circumstances dictate. Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities We have issued performance and surety bonds and standby letters of credit in connection with certain development projects. Performance and surety bonds are commonly required by public agencies from real estate developers. Performance and surety bonds are renewable and expire on the completion of the improvements and infrastructure. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, we had $212.6 million and $178.4 million, respectively, outstanding under such arrangements. We may be required under capital commitments or we may choose to make additional capital contributions to certain of our unconsolidated entities, representing our proportionate ownership interest, should additional capital contributions be necessary to fund development or acquisition costs, repayment of debt or operational shortfalls. See Note 5 for further discussion related to equity commitments to our unconsolidated co-investment ventures. Litigation From time to time, we are party to a variety of legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We believe that, with respect to any such matters that we are currently a party to, the ultimate disposition of any such matter will not have material adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.