Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees [Abstract]

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

13. Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

Litigation

Qui Tam Action

On December 9, 2009, plaintiff, Associates Against Outlier Fraud, filed a first amended qui tam complaint against Huron Consulting Group Inc., and others under the federal and New York state False Claims Act (“FCA”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The federal and state FCA authorize private individuals (known as “relators”) to sue on behalf of the government (known as “qui tam” actions) alleging that false or fraudulent claims were knowingly submitted to the government. Once a qui tam action is filed, the government may elect to intervene in the action. If the government declines to intervene, the relator may proceed with the action. Under the federal and state FCA, the government may recover treble damages and civil penalties (civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation under the federal FCA and $12,000 per violation under the state FCA). On January 6, 2010, the United States declined to intervene in the lawsuit. After the Court granted Huron’s motion to dismiss without prejudice, on September 29, 2010, relator filed a second amended complaint alleging that Huron and others caused St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center to receive more than $30 million in inflated outlier payments under the Medicare and Medicaid programs in violation of the federal and state FCA and is also seeking to recover an unspecified amount of civil penalties. On June 18, 2012, Huron filed a Summary Judgment motion for dismissal of the action in its entirety which is currently pending. We have conducted preliminary settlement discussions with the relator, and as a result we recorded a charge of $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2012, in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 450, “Contingencies.” No trial date has been set. We believe that the claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.

From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we are not a party to or threatened with any other litigation or legal proceeding that, in the current opinion of management, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expected results.

Guarantees

Guarantees in the form of letters of credit totaling $3.9 million and $4.0 million were outstanding at September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, to support certain office lease obligations as well as Middle East performance and bid bonds.

In connection with certain business acquisitions, we were required to pay additional purchase consideration to the sellers if specific performance targets and conditions were met over a number of years as specified in the related purchase agreements. These amounts were calculated and payable at the end of each year based on full year financial results. Additional purchase consideration earned by certain sellers totaled $32.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. As of September 30, 2012, we have no further obligations under these arrangements.

To the extent permitted by law, our bylaws and articles of incorporation require that we indemnify our officers and directors against judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with civil or criminal action or proceedings, as it relates to their services to us if such person acted in good faith. Although there is no limit on the amount of indemnification, we may have recourse against our insurance carrier for certain payments made.