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11
)
 
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 
Operating Lease Commitments


We lease our offices, warehouse facilities and certain equipment under non-cancellable operating leases which expire at various dates through
2029.
Total rental expense for the years ended
December 31, 2018
and
2017
was
$1,848
and
$1,600,
respectively. Certain of our operating leases contain predetermined fixed escalations of minimum rentals and rent holidays during the original lease terms. Rent holidays are periods during which we have control of the leased facility but are
not
obligated to pay rent. For these leases, we recognize the related rental expense on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease, which includes any rent holiday, and record the difference between the amounts charged to operations and amounts paid as Other Current Liabilities on our balance sheet. In addition to the monthly rental payments due, most of our leases for our offices and warehouse facilities require us to pay our portion of the common area maintenance, property taxes and insurance charges incurred by the landlord for the facilities which we occupy. These amounts are
not
included in the minimum rental commitments disclosed below as they are based on actual charges incurred in the periods to which they apply.

The aggregate minimum rental commitments under the non-cancellable operating leases in effect at
December 31, 2018
are as follows:
 
2019
  $
1,710
 
2020
   
1,612
 
2021
   
868
 
2022
   
296
 
2023
   
286
 
Thereafter
   
1,421
 
Total
  $
6.193
 

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2018Mar 26, 2019Showing above
2017Mar 28, 2018
2016Mar 27, 2017
2015Mar 29, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.