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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Jun. 29, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies  
Commitments and Contingencies

7. Commitments and Contingencies

        Legal Proceedings

        In the normal course of business, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, including patent infringement claims, product liability matters, employment disputes, disputes on agreements, other commercial disputes, environmental matters, antitrust claims, and tax matters, including non-income tax matters such as value added tax, sales and use tax, real estate tax, and transfer tax. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these proceedings, based upon our experience, current information, and applicable law, we do not expect that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

        Environmental Matters

        We are involved in various stages of investigation and cleanup related to environmental remediation matters at a number of sites. The ultimate cost of site cleanup is difficult to predict given the uncertainties regarding the extent of the required cleanup, the interpretation of applicable laws and regulations, and alternative cleanup methods. As of June 29, 2018, we concluded that we would incur investigation and remediation costs at these sites in the reasonably possible range of $15 million to $43 million, and we accrued $18 million as the probable loss, which was the best estimate within this range. We believe that any potential payment of such estimated amounts will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

        Guarantees

        In disposing of assets or businesses, we often provide representations, warranties, and/or indemnities to cover various risks including unknown damage to assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability for investigation and remediation of environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. We do not expect that these uncertainties will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

        At June 29, 2018, we had outstanding letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and surety bonds of $283 million.

        We generally record estimated product warranty costs when contract revenues are recognized under the percentage-of-completion method for construction related contracts; other warranty reserves are not significant. The estimation is based primarily on historical experience and actual warranty claims. Amounts accrued for warranty claims were $46 million and $50 million at June 29, 2018 and September 29, 2017, respectively.

        Tax Sharing Agreement

        Under a Tax Sharing Agreement, we, Tyco International plc ("Tyco International"), and Covidien plc ("Covidien") share 31%, 27%, and 42%, respectively, of income tax liabilities that arise from adjustments made by tax authorities to the collective income tax returns for certain of our, Tyco International's, and Covidien's income tax liabilities for periods prior to and including June 29, 2007. Pursuant to the Tax Sharing Agreement, we entered into certain guarantee commitments and indemnifications with Tyco International and Covidien. As a result of subsequent transactions, Tyco International and Covidien now operate as part of Johnson Controls International plc and Medtronic plc, respectively. We have substantially settled all U.S. federal income tax matters with the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") for periods covered under the Tax Sharing Agreement. Certain shared U.S. state and non-U.S. income tax matters remain open. We do not expect these matters will have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.