XML 76 R22.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.1.9
LITIGATION AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2015
Loss Contingency, Information about Litigation Matters [Abstract]  
LITIGATION AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
LITIGATION AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In October 2012, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court granted the Company’s request for direct appellate review of a judgment in the amount of $20 million, including $18 million in punitive damages, that was entered against the Company in a wrongful death products liability case entitled Aleo v. SLB Toys USA, Inc., et al. (Superior Court of Massachusetts, Essex County, No. 2008-02149-A) (the “Judgment”). Oral argument concerning this appeal was held on May 6, 2013. On September 13, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision affirming the Judgment. During fiscal 2013, we accrued an additional $20 million related to this matter which was recorded in SG&A. In October 2013, the Company paid $25 million to satisfy the Judgment.
In May 2013, we opted out of the settlement of a class action lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard alleging violations of antitrust laws.  In January 2014, we, along with several other companies, filed a separate lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard entitled Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. et al. v. Visa, Inc., et al. (United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 14-00276).  A settlement was reached in December 2014, and we received a payment of $12 million in January 2015 which was recorded in SG&A.
In addition to the litigation discussed above, we are, and in the future may be, involved in various other lawsuits, claims and proceedings incident to the ordinary course of business. The results of litigation are inherently unpredictable. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation, require significant amounts of management time and result in diversion of significant resources. We are not able to estimate an aggregate amount or range of reasonably possible losses for those legal matters for which losses are not probable and estimable, primarily for the following reasons: (i) many of the relevant legal proceedings are in preliminary stages, and until such proceedings develop further, there is often uncertainty regarding the relevant facts and circumstances at issue and potential liability; and (ii) many of these proceedings involve matters of which the outcomes are inherently difficult to predict. However, based upon our historical experience with similar matters, we do not expect that any such additional losses would be material to our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.