XML 43 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.8
Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies

11. Commitments and Contingencies

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may be subject to various legal proceedings and claims including alleged infringement of third-party patents and other intellectual property rights. The Company reviews the status of each matter and records a provision for a liability when it is considered both probable that a liability has been incurred and that the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed quarterly and adjusted as additional information becomes available. If either or both of the criteria are not met, the Company assesses whether there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss, or additional losses, may be incurred. If there is a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred, the Company discloses the estimate of the amount of loss or range of losses, discloses that the amount would not have a material effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements (if applicable) or discloses that an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss cannot be made. Legal fees are recognized as incurred when the legal services are provided, and therefore are not recognized as a part of a loss contingency accrual.

On June 12, 2012, the Company acquired PowerReviews, Inc. (“PowerReviews”), a provider of social commerce solutions based in San Francisco, California. The total consideration paid for this transaction was $150.8 million, including the issuance of 6.4 million shares of the Company’s common stock and assumption of vested and unvested options to purchase the common stock of PowerReviews equivalent to options to purchase 1.7 million shares of the Company’s common stock, but excluding the potential cash proceeds that may arise from the exercise of these assumed options. On January 10, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) filed a complaint against the Company with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division (the “Court”), alleging that the Company’s acquisition of PowerReviews violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 18 and seeking the Company’s divestiture of assets sufficient to create a competing business that can replace the competitive significance of PowerReviews in the marketplace. On January 8, 2014, the Court ruled that the Company’s acquisition of PowerReviews violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 18. On April 24, 2014, the Company entered into a Joint Stipulation with the DOJ to resolve the DOJ’s claims in the antitrust action challenging the acquisition of PowerReviews and, together with the DOJ, the Company submitted a proposed order to the Court (the “Order”). Under the terms of the Joint Stipulation and the Order, the Company was required to divest all of the assets of the PowerReviews business. On June 4, 2014, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to divest PowerReviews, LLC, the successor to PowerReviews, to Wavetable Labs, LLC (“Wavetable”) for $30.0 million in cash, $4.5 million of which is to be held in escrow as partial security for the Company’s indemnification obligations under the definitive agreement. The terms of this transaction were approved by the DOJ on June 26, 2014, and the transaction was completed on July 2, 2014. Wavetable subsequently changed its name to PowerReviews. As a result of the foregoing, PowerReviews revenues, related expenses and loss on disposal, net of tax, are components of “loss from discontinued operations” in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. On the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, the assets and liabilities of the discontinued operations of PowerReviews have been presented as ‘Assets held for sale’ and ‘Liabilities held for sale,’ respectively. The statement of cash flows is reported on a combined basis without separately presenting cash flows from discontinued operations.

The Company realized a total loss on the disposal of PowerReviews of $10.7 million; of which, $9.2 million was recognized as an estimated loss on disposal of discontinued operations during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2014. The Company recognized the incremental loss of $1.5 million in the current fiscal quarter (See Note 3).

On March 12, 2013, a purported shareholder derivative action was filed in the Texas State District Court for Travis County, Texas against certain of the Company’s officers and directors, former officers and directors, and against the Company as nominal defendant. The original petition in this matter alleged claims purportedly on behalf of the Company against the individual defendants for corporate waste, breaches of fiduciary duties and breaches of the Company’s corporate policies in connection with the acquisition of PowerReviews and certain of the Company’s officers’ and directors’ sales of shares of the Company’s stock. The original petition requested declaratory judgment, a disgorgement of $91.4 million in proceeds received from such sales of the Company’s stock, unspecified damages on behalf of the Company, reasonable attorneys’, accountants’ and experts’ fees, and equitable relief. On October 23, 2013, the court granted a motion filed by the Company and individual defendants and ruled that the plaintiff’s original petition failed to allege particularized facts sufficient to excuse plaintiff from making pre-suit demand on the Company’s Board of Directors. The court ordered the plaintiff to file an amended complaint within 30 days setting forth particularized facts sufficient to excuse demand. On November 22, 2013, the plaintiff filed its amended petition, which again asserted claims for corporate waste, breaches of fiduciary duties and breaches of the Company’s corporate policies in connection with the acquisition of PowerReviews and certain of the Company’s officers’ and directors’ sales of shares of the Company’s stock. The court stayed the lawsuit and its ruling on the motion for summary judgment to allow the parties to participate in mediation. On July 9, 2014, the parties attended mediation and agreed to preliminary settlement terms, subject to board approval, court approval, and notice to the Company’s shareholder. The Company does not expect the settlement to have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

As of July 31, 2014, the Company was in the process of assessing the sales tax status of the Bazaarvoice enterprise service offering with sales tax agencies in certain states in which it operates. Based on the limited information received from certain of these states, the Company cannot determine with certainty the historical time period for which these services were taxable, and, for certain states, which of its service offerings and features these states may determine to be subject to state sales tax. The Company currently estimates that its liability, net of amounts to be recovered from clients, will be between $2.8 million and $3.3 million. The Company has accrued a liability of $3.1 million, representing the best estimate of the amount within this range that will probably be incurred to settle these obligations. The estimated range includes continuing to execute its action plan for recovering these amounts due from the Company’s clients. If it is determined that the time period in which the products are taxable or the portion of the Company’s product offering subject to state sales tax is greater than that used to determine the accrual as of July 31, 2014, or if there are changes in our underlying assumptions, then the actual liability incurred will likely approach the higher end of the current estimated range.