(17) Contingencies Legal and Regulatory Matters The Company is a subject to legal and regulatory proceedings in the ordinary course of its business. The Company s legal and regulatory matters include proceedings specific to the Company and other proceedings generally applicable to business practices in the industries in which the Company operates. The Company s litigation and regulatory matters are subject to many uncertainties, and given their complexity and scope, their outcomes cannot be predicted. Regulatory proceedings also could affect the outcome of one or more of the Company s litigations matters. Furthermore, it is often not possible to determine the ultimate outcomes of the pending regulatory investigations and legal proceedings or to provide reasonable ranges of potential losses with any degree of certainty. Some matters, including certain of those referred to below, are in very preliminary stages, and the Company does not have sufficient information to make an assessment of the plaintiffs  claims for liability or damages. In some of the cases seeking to be certified as class actions, the court has not yet decided whether a class will be certified or (in the event of certification) the size of the class and class period. In many of the cases, the plaintiffs are seeking undefined amounts of damages or other relief, including punitive damages and equitable remedies, which are difficult to quantify and cannot be defined based on the information currently available. The Company believes, however, that based on currently known information, the ultimate outcome of all pending legal and regulatory matters is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company s consolidated financial position. Nonetheless, given the large or indeterminate amounts sought in certain of these matters and the inherent unpredictability of litigation, it is possible that such outcomes could materially affect the Company s consolidated financial position or results of operations in a particular quarter or annual period. The