COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

16.       COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Barnwell has several non-cancelable operating leases for office space and leasehold land.  Rental expense was $504,000 in 2011 and $629,000 in 2010.  Barnwell is committed under these leases for minimum rental payments summarized by fiscal year as follows: 2012 - $521,000, 2013 - $522,000, 2014 - $462,000, 2015 - $167,000, 2016 - $167,000 and thereafter through 2026 an aggregate of $363,000.  The lease payments for land were subject to renegotiation as of January 1, 2006.  Per the lease agreement, the lease payments will remain unchanged pending an appraisal, whereupon the lease rent could be adjusted to fair market value.  Barnwell does not know the amount of the new lease payments which could be effective upon performance of the appraisal; they may remain unchanged or increase, and Barnwell currently expects the adjustment, if any, to not be material.  The future rental payment disclosures above assume the minimum lease payments for land in effect at December 31, 2005 remain unchanged through December 2025, the end of the lease term.

Barnwell is obligated to pay Nearco, Inc. (“Nearco”) 2% of Kaupulehu Developments’ gross receipts from real estate transactions, and Cambridge Hawaii Limited Partnership, a 49.9% partner of Kaupulehu Developments in which Barnwell has a 55.2% interest, is obligated to pay Nearco 4% of Kaupulehu Developments’ gross receipts from real estate transactions.  The fees represent compensation for promotion and marketing of Kaupulehu Developments’ property and were determined based on the estimated fair value of such services.

In conjunction with the closing of the Increment II transaction in fiscal 2006, Kaupulehu Developments entered into an agreement to pay its external real estate legal counsel 1.5% of all Increment II percentage of sales payments received by Kaupulehu Developments for services provided by its external real estate legal counsel in the negotiation and closing of the Increment II transaction.  No amounts were paid pursuant to this arrangement in fiscal years 2011 or 2010.

Kaupulehu 2007 has agreements with Kaupulehu 2007’s project manager and with the independent building contractor that constructed the two luxury homes for Kaupulehu 2007.  A significant provision of the agreements is that both the project manager and independent building contractor are each entitled to receive 20% of the sales profit, as calculated based on actual acquisition, construction, carrying and financing costs, upon the sale of each of the two homes constructed by Kaupulehu 2007.

Barnwell, as an investor in various joint ventures, may be periodically called upon to make additional capital contributions.

Barnwell is occasionally involved in routine litigation and is subject to governmental and regulatory controls that are incidental to the ordinary course of business.  Barnwell’s management believes that all claims and litigation involving Barnwell are not likely to have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial position or liquidity.