17. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Operating Leases . We lease building space, manufacturing facilities and equipment under non-cancelable operating lease agreements that expire at various dates. We record rent incentives as deferred rent and amortize as reductions to lease expense over the lease term. The aggregate minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable leases for the next five years and thereafter, as of December 31, 2011, are as follows (in thousands): Years Ending December 31, 2012 $ 11,749 2013 11,036 2014 10,453 2015 7,664 2016 7,201 Thereafter 19,537 $ 67,640 Rental expense under operating leases totaled $14.3 million, $12.0 million, and $13.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009 respectively. Scheduled increases in rent expense are amortized on a straight line basis over the life of the lease. Litigation From time to time, we are plaintiffs or defendants in various litigation matters in the ordinary course of our business, some of which involve claims for damages that are substantial in amount. We believe that the disposition of claims currently pending will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations. The manufacture and sale of orthopedic devices and related products exposes us to a significant risk of product liability claims. From time to time, we have been, and we are currently, subject to a number of product liability claims alleging that the use of our products resulted in adverse effects. Pain Pump Litigation We are currently named as one of several defendants in a number of product liability lawsuits involving approximately 87 plaintiffs in U.S. cases and a lawsuit in Canada which has been granted class action status, related to a disposable drug infusion pump product (pain pump) manufactured by two third party manufacturers that we distributed through our Bracing and Vascular segment. We sold pumps manufactured by one manufacturer from 1999 to 2003 and then sold pumps manufactured by a second manufacturer from 2003 to 200