XML 34 R14.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.3.a.u2
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 29, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
(6)
Commitments and Contingencies
The Company is a party to lawsuits, revenue agent reviews by taxing authorities and legal proceedings, of which the majority involve workers’ compensation, employment practices liability, general liability and automobile and franchisee claims arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company records legal fees associated with loss contingencies when they are probable and reasonably estimable.
Litigation is subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual litigated matters is not predictable with assurance. These matters referenced above could be decided unfavorably to us and could require us to pay damages or make other expenditures in amounts or a range of amounts that cannot be estimated with accuracy. In management’s opinion, these matters, individually and in the aggregate, should not have a significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company, and the established accruals adequately provide for the estimated resolution of such claims.
On February 14, 2011, Domino’s Pizza LLC was named as a defendant in a lawsuit along with Fischler Enterprises of C.F., Inc., a franchisee, and Jeffrey S. Kidd, the franchisee’s delivery driver, filed by Yvonne Wiederhold, the plaintiff, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Richard E. Wiederhold, deceased. The case involved a traffic accident in which the franchisee’s delivery driver is alleged to have caused an accident involving a vehicle driven by Richard Wiederhold. Mr. Wiederhold sustained spinal injuries resulting in quadriplegia and passed away several months after the accident. The case went to trial in 2016 and the Company was found liable, but the verdict was reversed by the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals in May 2018 and was remanded to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida for a new trial. The case was tried again in June 2019 and the jury returned a $9.0 million judgment for the plaintiff where the Company and Mr. Kidd were found to be 100% liable (after certain offsets and other deductions the final verdict was $8.0 million). The Company continues to deny liability and has filed an appeal.