Note 11 - Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Feb. 25, 2012

Notes To Financial Statements

Legal Matters and Contingencies [Text Block]

11. Contingencies

We are involved in various legal and environmental matters, which arise in the normal course of business. Although the final outcome of these matters cannot be determined, based on the facts presently known, we believe that the final resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or future results of operations.

We lease land and buildings that are used in the operation of our Company-owned retail stores as well as in the operation of certain of our licensee-owned stores.  We had obligations of $69,257 and $73,249 at February 25, 2012 and November 26, 2011, respectively, for future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases having initial terms in excess of one year.

We also have guaranteed certain lease obligations of licensee operators.  Lease guarantees range from one to ten years. We were contingently liable under licensee lease obligation guarantees in the amount of $2,316 and $2,515 at February 25, 2012 and November 26, 2011, respectively.

We have also guaranteed loans to certain of our licensees to finance initial inventory packages and other operating requirements for those stores. These loans generally have three year terms.  The total contingent liabilities with respect to these loan guarantees as of February 25, 2012 and November 26, 2011 were $95 and $186, respectively.

In the event of default by an independent dealer under the guaranteed lease or loan, we believe that the risk of loss is mitigated through a combination of options that include, but are not limited to, arranging for a replacement dealer, liquidating the collateral (primarily inventory), and pursuing payment under the personal guarantees of the independent dealer. The proceeds of the above options are expected to cover the estimated amount of our future payments under the guarantee obligations, net of recorded reserves. The fair value of lease and loan guarantees (an estimate of the cost to the Company to perform on these guarantees) at February 25, 2012 and November 26, 2011 was $388 and $508, respectively, and is recorded in other accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The inputs into these fair value calculations reflect our market assumptions and are not observable.  Consequently, the inputs are considered to be Level 3 as specified in the fair value hierarchy in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. See Note 14.

Subsequent Event

Subsequent to February 25, 2012,  we were informed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) that they expect to make a series of distributions to us totalling approximately $9,000 representing our share of the final distribution of duties that have been withheld by Customs under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (“CDSOA”). Customs expects to make this series of distributions over a period of several weeks beginning mid-April of 2012, however there is no legally binding deadline for them to do so by then. Moreover, if the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit were to reverse the decisions of the United States Court of International Trade which ordered the release of the final distribution, it is possible that Customs may seek to have us return all or a portion of our share of the distributions.